A Nightmare In Red
by FerociousPtaryndactyl
Summary: Ryou has started to settle into life in the wizarding world, but there are things his past won't let him forget. Not just Ryou's, but Bakura and Malik's darkest secrets as well. Zorc is stirring, and the thief may be their only hope. Tendershipping, gemshipping. Discontinued sorry fam YoI calls
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to the first chapter of A Nightmare in Red! This is a sequel to Somewhere in the Grey, which is a 4 year old 225k+ story that has been linked on my profile. It has cringeworthy moments but isn't a… complete train wreck, so I would recommend you read it first! If you don't want to, you can also find a synopsis on my profile which will cover the entire plot as succinctly as I could make it for a fic that long.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

* * *

The smell of warm sugar and chocolate rose through the suburban house on Number 4 Privet Drive.

Harry sat up in his bed with a frown, hair a mess. He grabbed his glasses from the nightstand.

The decrepit alarm clock beside his bed showed it was only seven AM, too early for his aunt to be baking, surely… He dragged himself blearily to his feet, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It hadn't been the smell that had awoken him, so what had, he wondered?

A staccato tapping on the window caught his attention. Beyond the glass, a snowy owl and a tawny horned owl had perched just outside. The tawny had a pouch and a newspaper: The Daily Prophet.

He tripped over the messy floor and hurried to unlatch the window, letting Hedwig flutter inside. She settled on her perch inside the cage, the door standing open. The horned owl stayed outside, but stuck its leg out. Harry hurried to pay the bird and take the newspaper from its leg.

He closed the window behind him, unfurling the newspaper as he turned around. More of the same, just like every one of the other Daily Prophets which littered the floor, the desk, and had been shredded and thrown in the bottom of Hedwig's cage.

The uproar in the papers hadn't abated since that day only a couple of weeks ago, when Voldemort had returned. It dominated the front pages and threw the Ministry of Magic into chaos. And it didn't help that Ryou had also thrown a wrench into the works.

Harry still remembered the scene as vividly as the moment it had happened, his head splitting in pain, incapacitating him, as Voldemort turned on Ryou. Wandless and defenseless, Ryou had done something Harry had never seen before: throw up a wall of purest darkness, as though the shadows from the floor had been given thickness and form.

Even more unbelievable, the shield had held, defending Ryou from spell after spell from Voldemort himself. Just before it could shatter, Bakura had appeared and it strengthened, protecting them until Dumbledore could arrive.

The pair summoned monsters from thin air, or maybe the same dark stuff which made up the shield. A skeletal swordsman had charged forward to fight. A wispy winged woman helped Ryou to his feet and made Harry's head hurt less after being taken over.

It didn't make sense! The papers tried to understand how something like this could have happened. How magic like this could have gone unnoticed for thousands of years. People were afraid, and Harry couldn't blame them.

No one really knew how many people could use something like this, or even knew about it before this year. They didn't know how powerful it was. Clearly it was something with the potential to be much stronger than wizard magic, working in a way not entirely dissimilar to a dementor's kiss.

It was good PR when Ryou showed it was possible to return the souls taken from several of the Death Eaters to their bodies in a way dementors couldn't, but it only made the public more afraid. This was a power in the hands of a pair of people barely of age.

It was common knowledge that Ryou went to school for a year before this knowledge got out. That Dumbledore had known. He had kept Bakura a secret, and he had kept this great and terrible dark power a secret. Would it be used for evil, people wondered?

Some people didn't care that Ryou had fought against Voldemort. They only saw fear, that there was the potential for great harm to everyone if something happened. They were worried.

All manner of research was done, or at least attempted, but the Ishtars, the only other known practitioners, had hidden themselves away nowhere to be found. So the only information to be had was assumptions and the hearsay of old legends. They were lost, and they were scared.

Harry threw the newest paper aside. There wasn't anything of interest in it anyway. Just more panic and more fear.

Downstairs, Aunt Petunia was baking cookies. He kept to the stairwell, listening with a frown.

"-taken in a foreign exchange student," she said.

"Mrs. Figg? That doesn't sound like her," Harry's uncle commented. There was a sound like ruffling paper as he rearranged his newspaper. "She doesn't have relatives outside of the country, does she?"

"Not as far as I know," Petunia replied. An egg timer rang. The oven opened and a whiff of chocolate filled the air. "Holiday's only just started. Are they going to school here this year?"

Typical. Nosy Aunt Petunia was baking as an excuse to visit their neighbor. Harry wasn't surprised anymore by the lengths his relatives went to nose into their neighbor's business.

They left for Mrs. Figgs only a few minutes later. Dudley was with his gang roaming the neighborhood. Harry ate a bowl of cereal in peace and returned to his room to read over the paper.

Summers always were boring.

Harry thought nothing of his relatives and their usual shenanigans until his aunt and uncle finally returned, this time without the plate of cookies. They were whispering as they walked through the door. Harry could just make out their furious mutters if he stepped out of his room.

"Wearing a suit of all things, so formal!" Petunia said. "Very polite and cordial."

"Impressive English, too. If it wasn't for the name, I'd think he was from around here," Vernon said.

"But what was that hair color? He must dye it," she replied.

Harry frowned. It couldn't be…

* * *

Summers in England were slightly cooler than those back in Japan. It was a bit of a nice change.

Ryou kicked his feet up a little and watched them drag back along the dusty ground. His momentum carried him slightly forward, and then back once more. He curled his fingers tighter around the chainlinks that made up the swing.

"This is nice," he murmured.

It was the perfect sort of day to sit outside. The park may have been a bit decrepit. Only one of the swings remained. The others were broken beyond use, the chains separated from split plasticine seats. But it wasn't so bad.

The wind was cool on his skin and smelled like the magnolia trees which lined the roads. He lifted his head and smiled at the sky.

/Having fun?/ Bakura asked over the mind link.

/Mmm, yes. Helps take the edge off a bit.../

Ryou's eyes were still slightly red and stinging, but most of the edge was gone. At least the graves were decorated now, strewn with all of his mother and sister's favorite flowers.

He even had cookies waiting back at Mrs. Figg's.

There was distant laughter, and Ryou's mind fell back to earth. A group of boys around Harry's age were walking around the perimeter of the fenced in park, joking and laughing noisily with each other.

"They must live here," Ryou murmured.

/Trouble.../ Bakura said. The boys circled around and entered the park. The one at the front had a prodigious girth. They grinned and cracked their knuckles as they slowly approached.

"And who's this?" one of the boys said.

"I heard he's the foreign exchange student," another said. They spoke like Ryou wasn't sitting only a few feet away, listening to every word they said.

Ryou smiled. "Good afternoon. My name is Ryou Bakura. Pleasure to meet you."

/I do not believe they are here for introductions/ Bakura said. Ryou continued to smile.

One swung a baseball bat loosely in his fingers. A subtle, wordless threat. They all did their best to seem visually imposing. "What kind of name is that?" the boy asked.

/He's disrespecting you/ Bakura said. Ryou hummed and kicked his legs up, swinging once more. Bakura appeared just behind the group.

"You don't need to hurt anybody," Ryou said.

One boy grabbed his bat a bit tighter. "You hear that? He thinks he can tell us what we can and can't do!" one said. The others nudged around elbows and had a good laugh about it.

"Oh. I wasn't talking to you," he said. He pointed behind them at Bakura. They turned in time to see Bakura smirk.

Ryou's darker half flicked a butterfly knife casually through his fingers and over his knuckles, turning the little blade end over end with a cold nonchalance.

"So. Who wants to be eviscerated first? Any takers?" Bakura asked in a level tone. Something dark flickered through his eyes that was more terrifying than the spinning blade.

The others took an immediate step closer to Ryou, and away from Bakura. A ripple of fear ran through them.

"He wouldn't use that knife… would he?" the fat one in the front said.

Ryou shrugged. "I can't control him. I've tried."

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Harry coming up from the back. About time. He was beginning to wonder if he'd ever see Harry. He'd been told the boy would be somewhere in this neighborhood, but he never really could remember the exact address. Looks like this made things easy.

"Harry!" he said with a broad smile, waving with his whole arm.

"Ryou, I wondered if I'd see you. Are you the one living with Mrs. Figg?" Harry said. Ryou nodded.

The fat one in the front went pale. "Y-you know each other?"

Harry grinned. "Ryou goes to school with me. And Bakura tags along because administration has no way of stopping him." Harry jabbed a thumb toward Bakura in the back.

Bakura chuckled. "Does that one know?" Harry nodded. Bakura was roaring with laughter now. The gang was now edging further away.

"Hold on, you don't mean…" the fat one said. He waved off the others. "Y-you know, it's not worth it. Let's just get out of here."

Ryou marveled at how quickly the others conceded and retreated. "Are they afraid of magic?" he asked. It seemed the only reasonable explanation for why the gang of bullies had fled so quickly.

Harry shook his head. "No. Only Dudley. But my relatives did tell everyone that I go to St. Brutus' School for Incurably Criminal Boys during the school year," he said with a toothy grin. Bakura couldn't stop laughing.

"Oh, that's rich!" he cackled. "No wonder those shits ran." Ryou smiled a little bit in spite of himself. He was glad that this could be resolved peaceably. He'd rather Bakura not draw knives on people, bullies or otherwise.

Harry leaned against the swingset. "So, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to go home after you left Hogwarts."

"I did go home, at least for a while," Ryou said with slight frown.

Home, and a few other places… His hand clenched slightly. Bakura's expression darkened. Ryou forced an artificial smile onto his face.

"Voldemort is still after me, so I thought it would be smart to keep moving around. And Dumbledore offered to let me stay in England some. Since I grew up not too far from here when I was young, I thought it would be a pleasant change.

"I got to visit my mother and sister, so that was nice." His smile felt a fraction more real. "It's nice here. Very quiet. But the people are a bit nosy."

"Like my relatives?" Harry snorted.

"Those people that dropped by today, they were your relatives?" Ryou said. They hadn't particularly resembled Harry, but then...

"Those awful people?" Bakura scoffed. He vanished and reappeared perched on the top of the swing set, his legs hanging down.

Ryou waved his hands, embarrassed. "Not to mean- I mean, they were lovely people-"

Harry laughed. "No, they're pretty horrible."

"We should mess with them," Bakura said.

Ryou shook his head. "Come on, we're not messing with Harry's family, it isn't nice-"

"Actually, I think it's brilliant," Harry said.

Ryou looked at him cynically. "Really? You want us to mess with them?"

"The Dursleys like things to be nice and normal. Anything beyond that, like foreign exchange students or magic, makes them worry. That's probably why they commented on your English. And they mentioned a suit…?" Harry trailed off.

Ryou nodded. "I was visiting my mother and sister."

"Right…" Harry said, and something softened in his gaze. Losing Sirius must have stung. Ryou knew that particular knife edge better than most.

Ryou started to swing once again, dragging his feet back along the ground with each pass. "What… What would you want to do?" he asked.

Harry blinked and refocused. It seemed to have worked, because the deep, aching sadness seemed to lighten by gradual shades.

"Oh, just unnerve them a bit. Maybe tell them you go to school with me. Of you could just start speaking Japanese to them," Harry added with a grin.

Ryou nodded. "That doesn't sound so bad…"

Bakura chuckled. "If that's all it takes, imagine their reactions if we…" he trailed off with a knowing smile, sending a quick thought over the mind link.

Ryou's hands curled into fists around the chain. "You know I don't wear that kind of thing!" he said with a slight blush. He ducked his head. "And neither do you."

"I could make an exception," Bakura said with a teasing smile. "Mm, but could you?"

Harry looked confused. "I don't think I understand."

"Bakura has some bad ideas that we aren't using," Ryou said pointedly. He reached up and jostled Bakura's foot, halfheartedly attempting to dislodge him from the railing. Bakura grinned.

"Oh, but you'd look so good. Just imagine…" Bakura trailed off, but the flurry of images started to increase in speed. They flashed one behind the other in Ryou's mind, each growing more lewd. Each of the Ryou's had on less clothing than the last, and their poses grew increasingly provocative.

Ryou's face was unbearably warm. "No, bad Bakura," he said, but he was choking on the words. Bakura looked extremely satisfied with himself.

"I meant to ask, but I didn't want to bring it up in front of the others just in case, but…" Harry started, trailing off. Ryou released Bakura's foot and cocked his head.

"Huh? What?" Ryou asked.

"Are you two…? Well, you're not related, I'm assuming. But are you two, er…" Harry made a vague sort of gesture with his hands that seemed to imply some meaning of 'together'.

Bakura burst into laughter which echoed eerily around the little park. Ryou's cheeks somehow managed to grow even warmer. He averted his eyes and suddenly found the ground incredibly interesting.

"You, ahahaha… You noticed, I guess," Ryou said weakly.

"You say that like we were trying to keep it a secret," Bakura said.

"I was!"

Bakura grinned lecherously. "I wasn't."

"So you are?" Harry said.

Bakura dropped to the ground in a low crouch, then straightened. His hands rested by his hips, thumbs hooked in his pockets. He grinned.

"Does this answer your question?" he asked, catching Ryou by the chin. His head bowed, and Ryou wriggled in surprise as Bakura swooped down and kissed him.

"Mmmm, Bakura," Ryou muttered, swinging slightly back. Bakura followed the swing up the arc until he was holding Ryou up off the ground.

"Don't tell me you're _embarrassed_ of us," Bakura said. He had an animal hunger in his eyes. He sighted weakness. He was closing in.

"N-no, of course not-" Ryou sputtered.

"Or that you don't want your little friends to know…" Bakura continued.

"It isn't that at all-"

"Or you're pretending that nothing has changed-"

"Bakura!" Ryou interrupted, grabbing Bakura's face. "That's not it and you know it!" His face was such a deep, brilliant scarlet that it put Harry's red shirt to shame.

He hesitated, then brushed his lips briefly onto Bakura's. At the same time, he impressed a few feelings over the mind link, vague thoughts and emotions and discomfort and soft, fluttering warmth. Bakura sighed.

"Fine, later than," Bakura said simply. He rolled his eyes and stepped aside, still holding Ryou in the air. He moved to the back and gave his light a solid shove, sending him flying forward.

"I haven't stepped on anything touchy, have I?" Harry asked, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Ryou shook his head.

"No, I'm just… Not used to this. Any of it. I'm still adjusting, and it's taking time." He half-smiled and looked back towards Bakura as he swung. "I'm honestly surprised Bakura isn't pushing more."

"Uraeus would likely try to kill me in my sleep," Bakura muttered.

"Exactly," Uraeus added. The emerald serpent stuck his head out from Ryou's shirt collar, where he'd been hiding under the masses of silvery hair. The crystal skull glittered in the sunlight. "I'm alwaysss watching."

"Hello, Uraeus," Harry said with a little wave.

The snake bowed his head briefly in acknowledgement. "Alwaysss."

"That was impressive, what you did to Bellatrix," Harry said. "I didn't know that was possible." Even Ryou didn't understand how the shadows reacted with Uraeus. Somehow, they made him grow from one foot long to as many as three or four, as well as strengthening him enough to constrict Bellatrix and halt her escape.

"Mosssst impossssible thingsss are sssurprissingly posssible. The ssshadowsss, doubly ssso."

Harry nodded.

Ryou flinched. Another of the images of a scantily clad Ryou popped into his head. Despite the costume's relatively tame appearance, this one was the most provocative by far.

He was posed like a centerfold in a pornograpic magazine. A midriff-baring blue top barely covered his chest. Long and loose sleeves fluttered past his fingertips, but his shoulders were bared. The shortest black shorts Ryou had ever seen cut off high on his thigh, exposing long, pale legs and the barely defined muscles just above his groin.

His lips were slightly parted, eyes unfocused, hair debauched, and his pupils were large and round and almost entirely black, ringed only by the barest hint of green.

A dark laughter rumbled quietly over the mindlink. The blush had returned.

"Bakura," Ryou complained.

"Wasn't there something we were talking about earlier?" Bakura asked. It was hard to think. Ryou couldn't seem to remember.

"Oh yeah," Harry said. "Did you still want to come over tomorrow? You don't have to do anything over the top. Just telling them you go to school with me would probably give them a coronary." He laughed.

Ryou smiled. "Sure. They left the plate, so I can throw some cupcakes or something together and return it."

"You don't have to do that," Harry said, but Ryou shook his head.

"I insist. I haven't had the chance to bake all year. I kinda miss it."

* * *

Ryou was up late the next morning. Flour was smudged across his face and apron, but the cupcakes only needed a gloss of frosting over the top and they'd finally be finished.

/Bakura, you're allowed back in/ Ryou sent. Bakura had been banished from the kitchen after one too many mental images sent over the mindlink of Ryou in an apron. Just the apron. He'd tried to come back anyway, but promises of licking clean the spoon finally convinced him.

Ryou folded up the apron and put it away right as Bakura appeared. He looked halfway disappointed. Ryou passed him the spoon. "Here, leftover batter. It's all yours." Bakura perked back up again.

"Huh. This place finally smells like something other than cabbage," he commented.

Ryou drew a knife from a drawer and began to spread an even layer of frosting.

"What time are we leaving?" Bakura asked.

"After I eat lunch and get dressed." Bakura grinned. Ryou shook his head. "No way in hell."

"Come on, I'll do it," Bakura said. His clothing rippled and began to darken and change. In a matter of seconds, his clothing had taken on an edgy, distressed sort of look.

In movies, there were certain looking people that good girls didn't bring home to their families unless they wanted to see their parents cry, or for their dad to bring out the shotgun. In the most stereotypical way possible, Bakura looked like that now.

Ryou giggled. It was too much. "You look ridiculous."

"Excellent. I hope I offend their delicate sensibilities in every way."

"You're offending my delicate sensibilities dressed like that," Ryou laughed.

Bakura grinned. "Then I'm succeeding already." Bakura ducked over and swiped a finger through the bowl of frosting, and Ryou rapped his knuckles.

"That's not for you," Ryou said disapprovingly.

"Not yet it isn't," Bakura replied. "Hmm. Not a fan of sugar, but this is pretty tasty."

Ryou smiled and started on the next.

After everything was finished, he arrayed half of the perfectly iced cakes around the freshly washed plate. The smudge on his nose had almost been forgotten during lunch, so he hurriedly cleaned himself up, changed into a clean tee shirt and jeans, and he was finally ready to go. He almost tripped over Mr. Paws on the way down the stairs.

"Ready to go?" he called out.

"Go where?" Mrs. Figg replied.

"Oh, good afternoon Mrs. Figg," Ryou said, pausing in the archway leading to the kitchen. "I hope you don't mind that I used your oven. You're welcome to what's left."

He gestured to the other plate of cupcakes, which ended up being any cake that was anything less than absolutely perfect.

She smiled. "You're a doll, Ryou, thank you. Have fun."

Ryou grabbed the Dursley's plate and headed down the street. The afternoon wasn't unpleasantly warm, thanks to a slight breeze. Ryou hummed to himself as he walked.

Bakura appeared at his back like a ghost, still wearing the ridiculous outfit. His tee shirt now read 'swag' in a grotesque yellow font. His hair was in a wild disarray.

"Would a tattoo frighten them?" Bakura asked, as black ink fluttered down his arm, twisting and weaving into a design rather reminiscent of Diabound and Egyptian hieroglyphics. "Piercings and jewelry?" Gold now glittered in his ears, through his lip, and around his wrists. Black lines darkened around his eyes and smudged like eyeliner.

"Any more and they might not let you through the door," Ryou said, barely containing his laughter.

They approached the door of number 4. Ryou rang the bell. Bakura leaned back around the corner, just out of sight of the doorway.

A horse faced woman in a flowery sundress answered. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Dursley," Ryou said crisply with a smile. "I wanted to return your plate. I hope you enjoy cupcakes."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, why don't you come in for tea?" she said graciously. "Did Mrs. Figg not join you?" There was a slight hint in her voice, as though she was rather glad that Mrs. Figg had not come along, but wouldn't have said a word if she had.

Ryou shook his head. "No, just Bakura."

"Who?" Petunia asked as she stepped back, allowing Ryou inside.

"My friend, Bakura Ishtar," Ryou said with a half smile, still amused by the name. Bakura stepped around the corner with a wave.

"Afternoon," Bakura said, tipping his sunglasses. His red eyes gleamed malevolently over the frames before he replaced them back on his nose. Petunia flinched at the sight of him.

"He… He wasn't, ah-" Petunia sputtered, looking between the two of them.

"Anou, no, he left before I did yesterday. I met him at the cemetery. You didn't get a chance to see him."

"Mrs. Figg didn't mention him yesterday," Petunia said weakly. The horror of this thing stepping through her doorway seemed almost too much to bear. Her face was drawn and pale.

"I don't generally like to be seen," Bakura said in a thickly accented voice. Ryou quirked an eyebrow. He'd never heard that tone of voice before.

Petunia wobbled weakly towards the living room. "T-take a seat, why don't you. I'll- I will-"

"Tea would be lovely," Ryou said gently, and Petunia nodded like a robot. She hurried into the kitchen. Ryou set the plate down on the table at the center of the room.

Bakura flopped onto the couch, drawing Ryou into his lap. Ryou squirmed and finally managed to wriggle away. "Oh no, we're not playing this game again."

Bakura smirked.

Vernon stomped down the stairs and froze as he reached the bottom. Ryou waved. "Good afternoon, Mr. Dursley."

Vernon Dursley's eyes moved right past Ryou, settling into Bakura and widening. He looked back at Ryou, and then back to Bakura. "Petunia!" he called. He vanished into the kitchen, where a barrage of whispers began to roll out.

Bakura looked elated. "Perhaps it's even better you didn't wear anything outrageous. That someone like you could spend time with someone like me… It's blowing their minds."

Ryou shook his shoulder. "Remember, we're doing this for Harry, not for your own amusement."

"Why not both?" Bakura said as Vernon reappeared. He sat in the armchair across from the couch.

"Ryou. Nice to see you again," he said gruffly, pointedly ignoring the swaggering mess that was Bakura.

"I just wanted to return your platter and thank you for such a warm welcome into the neighborhood," Ryou said.

/You are getting remarkably good at bullshitting/ Bakura said. He sat back, grinning, content for the moment to allow Dursley to ignore his existence for now.

Vernon nodded and grabbed one of the cupcakes from the platter. "Did you get these at one of the bakeries nearby or…?"

"Oh no," Ryou said. "I made them. I love to bake. These were made fresh this morning, in fact, to thank you for your hospitality." Vernon paused, scowling, and simply held the cake without unwrapping it. He was caught between disdain and an unwillingness to lose face.

/Laying it on a bit thick there, don't you think? Don't stop. It reminds them that this situation is all their fault for nosing into our business/

Petunia returned with cups of tea. Ryou dropped several cubes of sugar into his. Bakura downed the whole thing without hesitation. Ryou sipped at the tea delicately.

"So, who is your… brother?" Vernon coughed, grasping at straws. He was still pointedly looking away.

"Oh, Bakura isn't my brother. He's from Egypt." Vernon looked doubly confused. "This is delicious by the way," Ryou added, nodding to the pretty china tea cup.

"Thank you," Petunia forced out.

Bakura was positively gleeful. He had watched the uncomfortable nosing of the pair when they had come to visit Mrs. Figg. Ryou had been thrown for a loop and ended up being unfailingly polite in response.

Now the tables had turned.

Ryou chatted pleasantly for a while, just as he had the last time, making perfectly civil small talk as Petunia and Vernon grew increasingly more distressed. Bakura had stood, and while he hadn't done anything more than move slowly around the room, the scrutiny was clearly making their skin crawl.

The tattoo flashed out from under the shirtsleeve, and Petunia visibly withered.

Finally, Harry chose to come downstairs.

"Ryou, you made it," he said with a grin. "And you brought Bakura." The grin widened impossibly as Harry saw what Bakura was wearing. He was on the edge of laughing.

"You- you know each other?!" Vernon said, and his face was slowly purpling.

"Uh, yes," Ryou said. "Harry and I went to school together last year. I'll be going back in the fall."

"You!" Vernon choked on air and Harry stepped toward the table.

Ryou waved for him to take one of the cupcakes, and he did. He unwrapped it and took a bite. "Wow, this is fantastic, Ryou."

"Thanks," Ryou said brightly.

Bakura chuckled softly to himself. In Japanese, he said, "Want to see those two completely lose it?" His eyes flickered to a decorative vase in the corner of the room, then to a painting. "Just reply in Japanese and look around the room."

"You're evil," Ryou said disapprovingly, but also in Japanese.

The reaction was immediate, something between insult and curiosity and horror. It was actually almost comical.

"Don't worry about Bakura," Ryou said to the Dursleys. "He's never nice."

"What did he say?" Vernon snapped. "I demand to know!"

"Oh, ah-" Ryou began. "Actually, it isn't important."

"I won't stand for disrespect!" Vernon announced, glaring visibly at Bakura.

"I'm so sorry, sir," Ryou said.

Bakura completely ignored him, instead eating one of the cakes from the plate. Crumbs fell messily to the floor.

"I'm afraid your friend will have to leave!" Petunia said firmly to Ryou. She couldn't seem to bear to look at the mess on her carpet.

Ryou looked sideways at Bakura. "Could you make less mess please? It isn't polite."

"Yes, because I'm so polite usually," Bakura said. Something sadistic had taken over his face. "In fact… I'm getting bored here. Ryou, Hikari, I'm going out. Don't worry if I'm not back by midnight."

He stepped closer and placed a swift kiss on Ryou's lips, then he vanished into thin air with a soft wavering of darkness.

It had the intended effect. The kiss and the magic had been the final straw. "That's it! Everyone out of my house! I won't stand for this nonsense under my roof!" Vernon bellowed. He was livid, face purpling at a dramatic rate.

Harry's expression went from amused to worried in an instant. "Er, Ryou-"

Ryou forced a fake, pleasant smile onto his face. "Ah, yes, Bakura reminded me, I have a thing I need to do before it gets too late-"

"I'll help you," Harry said quickly, and they bailed from the house.

"You and that thing are never welcome in this house again!" Vernon bellowed from the doorway.

"Was he talking to you or me?" Ryou asked.

"No idea."

They ran until they reached the park. Bakura was lounging against a magnolia tree just outside the gate.

"That was great," Harry said with a laugh.

Bakura was endlessly smug. "Of course."

"Bakura does have a knack for getting under people's skin," Ryou said. Bakura's eyes moved down to Ryou's chest, and Ryou found himself shivering slightly.

/That… That isn't you. Not anymore/ Ryou sent over the link. A flicker of discomfort rippled, but was immediately overwhelmed with agreement.

/Something like that is no longer necessary/

Still, the sharp points of the millennium ring felt cold against the scar tissue in Ryou's chest.

"That was kinda fun, to be honest," Ryou admitted. "It didn't matter how polite I was. Bakura got us both kicked out!"

"I'm not surprised," Harry said. "I didn't know you had something like this to wear, though," he added, gesturing to the black clothing Bakura wore.

"He doesn't," Ryou said. "It's just part of him, the same way that he can appear in front of you and look solid. It's an illusion of the shadows. Right, Bakura?"

Bakura nodded. "You're learning well, Hikari." To Harry, he said, "I simply manifested this at my own will. See?"

The clothing rippled and changed once more, reverting back to what he wore that morning. The piercings and tattoo retreated into nothing, but the gold bracelets remained. He pulled them from his wrists.

"All except for these, of course," Bakura said. He tossed them to Ryou. "Meant to grab these from the soul room. Malik sent them. Latest from your father's dig. He pilfered these before anyone saw them and sent them our way."

"Bad Malik," Ryou said indulgently.

"If he of all people thinks it's okay, it has to be, right?" Bakura said, wiggling his eyebrows mischievously.

"Are those really from Egypt?" Harry asked.

Ryou handed them over so Harry could look at the markings etched faintly into the sides.

"Pulled from a tomb and everything," Ryou said. "See here, this is the name of the Pharoah. It says… Uh…"

Bakura leaned over. "Sobekhotep."

"You can read this?" Harry asked, eyes going wide.

"To a degree," Bakura said with a shrug. "Writing wasn't commonly known in my time. But you spend enough time in tombs and you decide leaning what you can might be useful."

Harry studied him carefully. "So, you really are from Egypt? What did you do back then? You know, before you ended up like… this." Harry gestured vaguely at Bakura.

"I was a thief and a tomb robber. Dangerous profession back then. Had the scars to prove it, too. Ah, but it was a thrill…" He trailed off wistfully. "There wasn't ever any other place for me."

Ryou half-smiled and retook the cuffs. They looked good beside the lapis bracelet so he settled them on his forearms.

"So, now that that's done, was there anything else you wanted to do today, Harry?"

* * *

A week passed quickly like this.

Ryou didn't stray too close to number four, for fear of angering the Dursleys once again. Instead, he and Bakura spent a significant portion of time in Magnolia Crescent's shoddy park.

Harry joined them often, having nothing better to do. They filled the time with talk of magic and other things.

Harry told Ryou about the cursed Defense against the Dark Arts position, and how no one lasted more than a year in it. He spoke of the different professors which had filled those positions, the good, the bad, and the crazy. They speculated about who might next take the position up.

Ryou told stories of his various muggle schools, and found a kindred, also-bullied soul in Harry. Both had been saved from the absolute worst of their tormentors by the grace of magic.

They talked about their families who were gone.

When the conversations took darker turns, they switched to lighter topics: what classes they would study next term, what Dudley's gang might be up to, and how the group had managed to convince their families that they weren't up to anything.

Ryou also spent another day visiting his mother and sister, dressing their graves in a sea of white flowers. The names could barely be read through the blossoms, and the stems could no longer be seen.

On the eighth day, Harry arrived at their usual spot with a letter from Dumbledore.

There was a tight curl in the parchment, fresh and still trying to reroll itself. The spidery handwriting was unmistakable.

"Is he really coming so soon?" Ryou asked.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I sent back a yes, but… Maybe he didn't get it. Or maybe he forgets, and I'm stuck here all summer…"

Ryou smiled encouragingly. "Well, I have nowhere better to be, so at least you'll have someone to talk to right?"

Harry seemed encouraged, so Ryou considered it a win.

They sat around the small broken roundabout. Uraeus had twined himself around one of the half-broken posts, holding on as they lazy spun it with their feet. Bakura was perched on the middle, watching from his higher vantage.

"You look tired," Harry eventually said.

Ryou flinched. "Ah, ahahaha, why would you say that?"

Harry dragged a finger under his eye. "You've got massive bags, and your eyes are bloodshot."

Ryou had also been unfocusing at the slightest provocation, and had nearly fallen asleep on the park toy. His cheeks colored in embarrassment.

"I haven't slept well the last two weeks," he admitted. Bakura's expression hardened. Ryou brushed his hand dismissively through the air. "Stop worrying about it so much, Bakura. I don't blame you."

"What's wrong?" Harry asked. "Is something happening?"

Ryou shifted uncomfortably on the roundabout. He hadn't wanted to talk about it. Saying it aloud made it seem more real. But Harry had suffered through nightmares all last year, and had ended up losing someone he'd loved because he hadn't done enough to stop them.

There was no one for Ryou to lose the same way, but that wasn't the point. People had gotten hurt. And Ryou's menacing nightmares were arguably worse than anything Harry could imagine.

"I… I've been having these dreams lately. Not dreams, they're nightmares. Bakura tries to stop them, but… Some of them have started to slip past him."

"What are they about? Different things, or always the same?" Harry asked.

Ryou shivered. "Almost always exactly the same. I'm falling. There's nothing I can do to stop it. And watching me is this… this thing. I can't describe him to you. I can't even say the name. It's too horrific. On his shoulder is Bakura, but it isn't Bakura. It's like him, but twisted. So dark…"

Ryou's arms went around himself, hugging himself tightly. Bakura vanished and reappeared at Ryou's back, enfolding him in a tight grip.

"Banish it from your mind. You're making it easier for him to find you."

"Sorry," Ryou whispered. He shook his head to clear it. "I'm sorry."

"There is nothing to apologize for."

Harry was frowning now. "How long has this been going on? Just two weeks?"

"It started last term. Bakura was able to stop it for a while, but it isn't always working anymore."

"We can figure it out, Ryou. Hermione might know something even if we don't, maybe we can-"

"No!" Ryou said. "You have enough to worry about with Voldemort. I'm not dragging you three into it too. This is my problem to deal with for now."

A soft twinkling started up in the background. Harry glanced around. "What was that?"

Ryou patted down his pockets until he found a phone. He recognized the number. "Malik?" he mumbled. He answered. "Hello?"

Loud noises crashed over the speaker, a cacophony of crumbling stone and things falling and people crying out in pain before suddenly falling silent. "-ou! Ryou! Do you hear me?!" Malik sounded frantic.

"Malik? What's wrong? What is it?" Panic crept into Ryou's voice. In the background, Marik's gleeful laugh signaled the destruction of something probably important.

Malik was screaming orders. "Get them out of the way, Marik, we need to stall! Ryou, you need to get to the circle. Hurry, there's no time!"

"What's going on over there?" Ryou cried out. "Malik! Malik!"

"We're under attack!"

Ryou locked eyes with Bakura. He'd heard. Uraeus quickly settled around Ryou's sleeve. Shadows filtered around them, rising like crashing waves.

"There's no time to waste."

* * *

 **Here's looking forward to a great story!**


	2. Chapter 2

A bloodcurdling scream split the night. The stench of shadows was in the air.

Ryou sat bolt upright in his bed, writhing in terror. Above him, Bakura's expression was grim.

The nightmare had returned, every bit as terrible as it had been only a few short months ago. Reprieve seemed like a distant shattered hope. Despair bubbled up.

Arms enclosed him, warm and comforting. Ryou struggled to slow his heart, taking in the dusky, darkened features of the hotel room. A second bed, which they had not used. A television that had a few channels of news and a few others of a more adult variety. They hadn't turned it on once.

Bakura's pulse was steady against his ear. Ryou curled inward. "Why…?" he whispered. "What is that monster? I need to know, Bakura. This is getting worse."

"I shouldn't," Bakura said.

Ryou's fingers clenched shut, curling into a fist against Bakura's chest. "Please. You said you wouldn't keep secrets like this. I can't bear not knowing, especially if the dreams are getting past you. Surely anything is better than ignorance."

Bakura hesitated.

"How much do you know about where I come from?" he eventually asked softly.

"Not much…" Ryou said. "I know you watched your village die to make the items. I know you grew up alone. But otherwise… Nothing."

Bakura sighed. "Then it isn't fair for you not to know."

Ryou nuzzled closer, inhaling the shadowy scent of Bakura's skin. He was starting to relax his clenched fist again, and let the pressure out of his shoulders.

"After my family was slaughtered by the pharaoh's men, I had to grow up fast. I lived a rough life. You know that much. And the one thing I wanted more than anything else, more than the riches of the palace or all the gold in all the tombs, was revenge against the one responsible."

"I know that," Ryou said, nodding slowly. "Why else would you have made it this long?"

"I'm getting to that. I pilfered from tombs, carved out a life for myself in the shadowy underworld of Egypt. But it wasn't enough. I was the King of Thieves, but I couldn't get close enough to the palace to enact my revenge. I couldn't ensure my survival to make it that far. At least, not until Zorc Necrophades."

"Z-"

"Don't say his name," Bakura interrupted. "This isn't like that phony dark lord Voldemort. Saying his name… it invites him in. He is the Dark One, the God of Chaos and Strangers, born from the darkness of people's hearts and the creator of the Shadow Realm. He saw my mission, and he, well, took interest."

"He gave you the ring?" Ryou asked.

Bakura shook his head. "No, but he told me how to get it. He saw in me a great potential, and a darkness he could use. I was tested, and then I was given a choice: to give myself over to him, or never see a drop of the Pharaoh's blood. This was how I eventually came into possession of the ring, and then bonded it to my soul."

"He's the reason you bonded with the ring?" Ryou surmised.

"Yes. He told me that it was possible to persist even beyond the death of my mortal form, and I was intrigued. With stakes as high as they were, I knew there was little choice. But the ring began to drive me slowly mad, and when death came for me, he sealed both he and myself within."

"I see," Ryou said softly. "But why mention this now? What does this all have to do with the dreams?"

"Uraeus and I have been talking, and we think that this might be what changed. My defeat in the Memory World RPG game sealed the both of us away inside of that tablet. Of course, I escaped, just like I always do. But… when I did, there was a piece fundamentally missing."

"What do you mean?" Ryou asked. Bakura reached down and grasped the ring which hung from Ryou's neck, cradling it in his fingertips. He smoothed his thumb over the wadjet symbol inscribed on its front.

"I mean, he and I had been trapped in this ring since that day so long ago. But when I slipped out alone, all that remained without him was a piece of me which remembered what had happened, but no longer possessed the same dark, genocidal hunger. That missing piece of the Dark One made its way elsewhere. Of course, I'm still plenty evil," Bakura added with a dark laugh. "I did plenty of terrible things before him, and I'll continue without him."

"I'm not so sure," Ryou said. "You're different now. It would explain so much. You might be rude sometimes, but you aren't ruthless. Before you were cruel and emotionless. But now…" Ryou smiled up and shyly feathered a few kisses over Bakura's cheek. Bakura tipped up Ryou's chin and met his lips, drawing the moment out, long and slow.

After a moment, they parted, and Bakura sighed. "Now I'm just tired. I'm tired of all of the runaround and the struggle and never winning. Somehow, that blasted Pharaoh always beats me, without fail, even when all of the odds are absolutely stacked in my favor. There is always defeat. It's just impossible for me to win."

"Well, you won me, didn't you?" Ryou's lips twisted up in a little smile.

Bakura petted Ryou's hair, but he didn't look as amused. "I still feel like I can't escape from him. These dreams, it's like… He's taunting me. Can't I win just once!" Bakura roared, slamming his fist down suddenly on the bed sheets beside Ryou.

Ryou smoothed his hand over Bakura's. "Just stick with it. I'm sure something will work out eventually."

Bakura lowered his head, burying his face into Ryou's hair. "Get some sleep, Hikari. You've got an early morning tomorrow. The newspapers will be taking photographs of you, and you'll feel a drain when the souls are released."

"I know. I don't feel like sleeping just yet, though," Ryou said. "Could… you maybe hum that song again?"

Bakura's smile was so sad, it seemed to cut right into Ryou's heart. "Why not?" he said. The song started up, soft and rumbling deep in Bakura's chest. The sound of it reverberated through Ryou, and he closed his eyes, letting it wash over him.

* * *

The shadows moved over him in a rush, then receded to reveal their room in Mrs. Figg's house. It had taken ten seconds total, longer than they had to spare. Malik and the others were in danger.

"Hurry," Ryou said.

"I am!" Bakura snarled, gathering the shadows once more. They'd landed on the bed. The chalk circle just beneath it was slowly darkening under the churning, twisting shadows. Ryou rubbed his thumb along the wand in his back pocket. There wasn't time for this.

The shadows rose up, and the room was suddenly bathed in waves of cold. In seconds, the darkness had returned, deeper and wider than before.

"Malik's opened the path already. Now he just needs to hold on," Ryou muttered. They started to run through the darkness, making for the other end of the shadows.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Bakura growled. Every second passed with excruciating slowness. They weren't going to make it in time. "Come on, come on."

They tumbled through the darkness, stumbling out into a wave of heavy, oppressive heat. It washed over them, bathing them in a glorious light which chased the darkness away. They were in Egypt.

Ryou smelled thick, black smoke. He coughed and stumbled to his knees. Bakura dragged him back to his feet, and a slim tanned figure dragged them both through the room.

"Thank Ra!" Malik said. "They're outside. Ishizu's been holding them back, but we can't keep them out for much longer! They've already set fire to the outside of the house, that's where the smoke is coming from!"

"Where's Marik?" Ryou asked. An explosion rocked the ground. Stray traces of rubble fell from the ceiling, knocked loose by the discharge.

Bakura gritted his teeth. "Found him." They emerged outside. Sand whipped past their faces at a furious pace. Black cloaked figures threw jets of light from their wands.

"Death Eaters? Here?" Ryou said incredulously.

"Is that what they are?" Malik asked, hurling a ray of shadows at the nearest one. The figure blocked it with a wave of his wand and retaliated with another light jet. Suddenly a monster rose up from the sand like a shark rising out of the ocean, and it consumed the man in one bite.

"Devour them, my pretties!" Marik cried out, lifting his arms in glee.

On his bloodstained face was a twisted sort of euphoria. Marik reveled in the endless destruction. He was darkness incarnate, consumptive chaos. He was a Midas with a touch of death instead of gold.

Bakura vanished and reappeared at the maniac's side. "What are you at?"

"Six!" Marik replied instantly. He threw his hands out and laughed, a cold, cruel, sadistic sort of sound. "Seven! You've got some catching up to do, shadow thief!"

"We'll see," Bakura replied with a smirk. Just like that, the sand began to ripple faster and faster, twining with granules of black. The very desert itself gave birth to a monstrous, twisting form. Wings flared from a slate gray torso which ended in the serpentine body of a hissing cobra. Its head was full of massive fangs. "Rise, Diabound!"

Ryou couldn't believe the creature that stood before him. It bellowed and raised its fearsome claws, lashing out at three of the nearby death eaters in a brutal strike. Two fell instantly, and the third was captured in the snake half's long-fanged bite. All three crumpled to the ground in a dead faint. A few of the other death eaters began to blast it with spells, but rather than injure the creature, it seemed to make it angrier and more powerful.

The jets of red and green light began to flow under its gray skin like glittering, iridescent veins. Diabound rose up taller and attacked once more, unleashing the lights back at those who had first cast them.

Ryou threw a stunning spell toward one of the death eaters who had managed to avoid the assault, and they dropped like a rock.

"We're tied now," Bakura said with a sharp-toothed smirk.

Marik growled. "We'll see about that, ice queen."

The battle raged around him, furious and hot. It was all Ryou could do to balance shield charms with stunning spells.

In the distance, Odion and Ishizu defended the entrance of the tomb from a rush of more of the hooded figures. Malik was struggling against a circle of them which had pinned him down behind a large rock.

As soon as he'd duck his head out to launch a ball of soul-sucking shadows, more of the lights would streak toward him, forcing him to retreat back to cover. They were slowly converging. Ryou sprinted toward him.

Ryou hurled a brilliant ball of light at the rock, sending out a blinding flash bang which blinded the death eaters for a split second. Not long, but enough for Ryou to hop behind the rock beside Malik.

They launched several attacks from the rock, and two more of the death eaters fell. "Marik and Bakura are taking care of most of them," Ryou said, hurling a paralysis spell toward one of the attackers.

"I just told Marik to help Odion and Ishizu. Not sure if he'll listen, though."

"If we can take these out we can-" Ryou cried out as a sudden pain sprang though his torso, gashing through him like the sweep of a knife. He clenched his teeth and dropped.

Every pulse of blood shuddered through him more painfully than the last.

"Ryou!" Malik called, hurling more shadows in the direction the spell had some. "Ryou, are you alright?"

"Fine," Ryou managed through gritted teeth. He held his hand against the wound, trying to hold his his side together. Blood spilled thick and fast through his fingers. He whimpered.

Diabound rose from the sand in front of them like an avenging angel, taking a swipe at the hooded figures. The battle raged, quick and furious, and then tapered off with a strange suddenness. The death eaters were afraid. The spells had stopped. They all saw their unconscious comrades on the ground.

As though a retreat had been called, all of the death eaters vanished with loud pops: the ones by the rock, the ones attempting to break into the tomb, even the ones still attempting to take Marik down. Most grabbed one of the fallen, dead or alive, and retreated.

Marik was dripping with blood, and most of it didn't appear to be his. He was still stabbing a motionless corse, as though he couldn't stop.

Bakura appeared beside Ryou, glowing with rage. "Who did it?! I'll destroy them, rip out their soul, feed it to Ammit, piss on their corpse, I'll-"

"Bakura," Ryou croaked, clutching his side. Bakura dropped to his knees beside him.

Ryou felt his shirt being pulled back, and light fingers feathered down his torso. He twisted to see it. A nasty gash sliced through him from armpit to navel, gruesome and bloody.

"Stay with me," Bakura growled.

"I'm here, I'm fine," Ryou panted.

"You're most certainly not fine!" Bakura said.

Malik had removed his shirt and was struggling to tear it into strips. Bakura drew out a knife and made short work of it. The sound of tearing fabric sounded strangely booming and yet distant in Ryou's ears.

"If you want something done right," Bakura muttered, and he started to roughly bind Ryou's chest as tightly as he could.

Ryou gasped. Pain lanced up and down the open wound, and the grinding of sand into his skin made him want to scream. He fought to grit his teeth. "Can't breathe," he whispered.

"Sorry, it has to be this tight," Bakura said. He sounded only a little sorry. Malik dropped to his knees as well.

"Bakura, we don't know that they're gone-"

"They're gone," Bakura said. "They probably thought you'd be an easy target, so they weren't prepared to deal with this much resistance. They'll be back eventually, but not for a while." He tied the binding off.

Bakura slid his arms under Ryou's back and knees and hoisted him up. They hurried to the tomb. "Ishizu!" Malik yelled. "Ishizu, Ryou's hurt-"

Ishizu was wrapping a long, gauze bandage around Odion's head. Odion looked half-dazed, but otherwise fine. "Don't jostle him," she warned Bakura. Bakura became a statue, still holding Ryou aloft.

Malik's eyes widened. Ryou couldn't remember the last time Bakura had so obediently followed an order, any order. He bit his tongue, trying to keep from whimpering again. A hint of pain escaped. Bakura snarled.

"When I find the one responsible for this I'll-"

Ishizu guided them into the mouth of the tomb, out of the sun. "Quiet, spirit of the ring. There is nothing you can do about it now. We need to make sure that Ryou is alright."

"Can't magic-" Ryou mumbled, gritting his teeth. He gasped as a spasm of pain lanced through him. Blood trickled to the floor in slow drops.

"This isn't your pretty little wand magic, Hikari. Shadows can't fix things. But…" Bakura paused.

"Dumbledore, we need Dumbledore," Ryou said. "He needs to know-"

Bakura tightened the wrappings further. Ryou gasped for breath, but the constriction distracted him from the pain.

"I'm going to try to calm Marik down," Malik said.

"Take Odion with you, and when you finish, tell him to send a message out," Ishizu advised, checking Ryou over carefully. She turned toward Bakura. "I need to remove the bandage. Can I, spirit?"

She was keeping her tone firm, but level and calm. Ryou recognized that tone. It was the kind a person used when speaking to a wild animal. All of that experience dealing with Marik, Ryou assumed.

"Fine," Bakura said, teeth clenched tight.

"Hurts," Ryou whimpered as the bandages loosened.

Bakura lowered his head, stroking his fingers quickly through Ryou's hair. "Shh, it's fine. Breathe. Just breathe. Deep breaths in and out," Bakura said.

Ryou's breath was rough and halting.

Bakura laid a hand on Ryou's chest, the other slipping into Ryou's clenching fist. "Come on, in… out… in…" It leveled out, but Bakura didn't stop. Ryou grasped Bakura's hand like a lifeline.

Fresh white bandages wrapped round and round his chest, pulled tight like before. "He needs stitches, but we don't have anything for it," Ishizu said.

Bakura growled. "No, he needs those wizards. They can fix this. We need to get to England, we need to-"

"There are wizards here, Spirit," Ishizu said.

"This is Dumbledore's problem. He needs to fix this!" Bakura roared.

"How is it his problem?" Ryou asked weakly.

"He's the one who drew the Ishtars into this. If they hadn't attacked here, if you hadn't gotten caught in the middle-" Bakura raged.

"Bakura," Ryou said, copying Ishizu's calm but hard tone. "It's too late for that. It's happened. I- ow- ah- just need some painkillers or something-"

Odion hurried into the tomb with Malik in tow. "It was tough, but we got him under control. I alerted the nearby camp. They've got a medic who can help. The healer tends to the tomb-keepers' injuries. We can hurry there."

"I'll take him," Bakura said. "Show me a map, I can get there."

Malik shook his head. "I'll take you there. It's magically hidden. You might not find it, even if we told you."

"Then start moving!" Bakura growled.

Malik gave him a hard look. "Ryou is my friend too. I'm just as worried as you are, but this isn't necessary. You're as bad as Marik right now. Calm down, or you'll hurt someone without even realizing it, just like he does."

Shadows whipped into a frenzy around them, taking home away from the tomb. They were spat out near an enclave of rock and tents. A few long-robed wizards came rushing out. Bakura glared at Malik, then sighed.

"I just can't afford to lose. Not this time," he said.

* * *

The wizards patched Ryou up, taking away the pain with a vial of sweet-tasting potion. There were no stitches, but the wound needed to remain bandaged for the next day or two. He also wasn't allowed to move around much for the next two weeks, for fear of injuring himself further. It would scar, but it would heal.

Bakura never left his side, holding his hand through it all, even as a dream-like haze settled over Ryou and even fogged Bakura over slightly as it passed over the mind link.

After a few hours of rest, they were allowed to bring Ryou back to the Ishtars, and were given one more vial of the sweet potion in case the pain returned. Ryou thanked them profusely.

Bakura carried Ryou out, despite his protests that he could walk.

"The death eaters could attack again at any time. You need your hands free," Ryou said.

"You're just saying that because you want down. You and I both know they they aren't attacking again any time soon as long as all of us are here. They suffered greater losses than we did," Bakura replied.

They reappeared outside the tomb. Night was falling over the quiet desert, the sun long gone, and with it its last rays of light. It seemed curiously quiet. Ishizu and Odion were picking their way around the ruins of the small, smoldering house. Malik sat on the ground with his head in his hands.

Hunks of wood jutted, blackened and destroyed, from the sand like wreckage. The house was gone. There was a chance that there was something salvageable to be found, but things didn't look good.

"Ryou will be fine," Bakura said after a moment. He let Ryou finally slide to his feet beside Malik, who didn't look up. Ryou sat beside him.

"The house is gone. We couldn't put it out," he said, voice broken. "I can't go back in that tomb, Ryou. I can't live there again."

"No one is going to make you go in there," Ryou said, patting Malik on the back.

Ishizu worked her way back slowly. "You're feeling alright now, Ryou?"

He nodded. "What will you do now?"

"I don't know. We need to keep the tomb safe, but we also need to stay alive ourselves. If those people come back-"

"Death Eaters," Ryou said quietly. "They're death Eaters. Voldemort must still want the power of the shadows."

"How did he find out where it was?" Odion asked. He patted Malik on the back, rubbing in small, soothing circles. Malik was shaking.

Ryou hesitated. "He must have pulled it from my mind last year."

"Entirely possible," an old voice said.

Ryou whipped his head up. Dumbledore looked vaguely out of place in his robes, pointed hat, and half moon spectacles. Ryou hadn't even noticed the pop indicating his arrival.

"Now you show up-" Bakura roared, but Ryou held him back with a soft hold on his hand.

"I'm afraid I only just got word of what happened, Spirit."

"You made it here sooner than I expected," Odion said.

"This is a matter we cannot simply ignore. If Voldemort is making moves in the open like this, this must be something he wants very badly."

"They were not attempting to kill us," Odion said. "Most of the attacks were nonlethal."

"Then it must be something he cannot get without at least one of you. You're correct, Ms. Ishtar. We need to keep your tomb safe. There are some measures we can take to protect it beyond what exists currently. But it may take some time, and there may be more immediate measure we might have to make in the meanwhile."

"Are you saying we need to go elsewhere until this blows over?" Odion asked.

"Possibly. You'll still have access to the tomb, but keeping the lock separated from the key never hurts, if you know what I mean," Dumbledore said.

Ryou saw a flash play over Bakura's face. That was right, they had failed to retrieve the key to the stone tablet. The prophecy had been smashed, and to make matters worse, neither had heard a word of the contents. Shadow users had access to other parts, but the tablet room itself was sealed tightly away.

Keeping the key separate, indeed.

"Malik needs to be kept safe. I won't see him in danger. No more," Ishizu said firmly.

"Professor Dumbledore," Ryou piped up. "The school, isn't it safe?"

Dumbledore thumbed his chin thoughtfully. "An envoy from the shadows," he muttered, so quietly it was like Ryou had imagined it.

"What was that, professor?" Ryou asked.

"Nothing, Mr. Bakura. Just a discussion I had with Minerva."

Malik lifted his head slowly. His face was filthy and sandy, save for the long lines streaked clean by tears. His eyes were red.

"I've decided," Dumbledore said. "Ms Ishtar, you and the elder Mr. Ishtar can assist me with the protections of the tomb. You can seek refuge with the order until such time as you decide to return. In the meanwhile, the younger Ishtar can attend Hogwarts, my school of magic. There is no place safer, I assure you."

"Go to school?" Malik said incredulously.

"Malik, the school is amazing. The stories I could tell you..." Ryou said.

"But Ishizu, Odion-"

"They will be kept perfectly safe as well," Dumbledore assured him.

"We'll protect the tomb, Malik. Go to Hogwarts with Ryou. I've heard a few things about it. It'll be a nice change. It'll be good for you to spend time with more people your age." Ishizu smiled softly.

"By the time you get back, we'll have the house rebuilt and better than before. Be safe," Odion said.

Malik hesitated. "But Odion, what about Marik?" Discomfort flashed over Odion's face, however briefly.

"Without the millennium rod, he has much less power. It won't be an issue," Bakura said.

"And Malik, you've been able to rein him in better lately, haven't you?" Ryou said.

Malik frowned at the sand. "Well, a bit…" A half a smile flickered over his face. It was drowning in pain, but a small light could be seen. "Might be fun…"

"Just think of the fun we could have, going to school together," Ryou added, and Malik's eyes gleamed with mischief.

"That's right," he realized. "I've never gone to a real school before. I listened to Yugi and the others talk about it, but I've never actually been to one before."

Ryou was grinning.

"Then it's decided," Dumbledore said. "We can be on our way immediately."

"Where are we going?" Ryou asked.

"To the burrow," Dumbledore replied, as though Ryou knew what that was. Dumbledore held out his left arm towards Ryou. The other, he saw, was curiously blackened. "I can only take one at a time," he apologized.

Ryou didn't particularly want to, remembering the last time something like this had happened, but there was nothing for it. He grabbed Dumbledore's hand. Bakura vanished, settling comfortably on the back of Ryou's mind.

"Hold on tightly. The sensation can be a bit disorienting," Dumbledore added, speaking to both Malik and Ryou. "I'll return in a few minutes. Enough time to say goodbye, I should think." He smiled encouragingly at Malik and then turned to Ryou. "Let's be on our way."

It happened so suddenly that Ryou almost couldn't tell what had caused it. They both lurched into a sensation of total compression, as though a bubble was sealing itself around Ryou, squeezing out every trace of air from his body, pushing his eyes deep into his skull, and as quickly as it started, they tumbled out onto a desolate country lane. It was early evening, with twilight creeping in.

Dumbledore glanced at Ryou with what almost seemed like a sheepish grin. "I can't imagine Molly will be too pleased to see us like this, but there's nothing for it."

They started towards a house which improbably tilted and leaned in a mind-boggling variety of directions, as though the building had only ever gone up and not out, with stability dependent wholly on magic.

The castle had been magnificent, grand and unquestionably magical, but this was entirely different. It was some strange combination of practicality and whimsy and Ryou couldn't help but love it instantly. "This is the burrow?" he asked.

"Correct. Molly should still be up…" He glanced at a watch which possessed eighteen hands and a dizzying array of moons and numbers that didn't seem to relate. "Barely eight. Yes, we should be fine…"

Ryou looked down at his clothing in horror as he realized what Dumbledore just said. Molly meant Mrs. Weasley.

She'd clucked at him for being too thin and attempted to dote on him when he pretended to be sick. Now he was covered in blood and sand, his shirt hanging from his skinny frame in tatters, and the bandage was starting to soak through again, the wound twisting when he stood. It was just enough to being weeping once more, albeit at a much more sluggish pace.

"Uh, professor-" Ryou said, but Dumbledore was already briskly walking toward the burrow.

/To be fair/ Bakura mentioned, sounding slightly amused. /You're the one who'll be doted on. He has to explain to that woman what exactly happened to you and why you showed up looking like this/ Bakura began to cackle.

Ryou tried to make his hair lie flatter. / _It isn't funny_ / he tried to say as Bakura laughed even harder.

Ryou walked toward the house as best he could, but his side burned like fire with every step. He clutched at the wound, biting his tongue.

Bakura appeared beside him. "You wanted to walk," he said.

"I do," Ryou said. He ground his teeth together, trying to keep from making noise. The potion for pain was still in his back pocket, but he hesitated to use it so soon.

"If you want help, you need only ask," Bakura said. He was walking backwards now, watching Ryou struggle up the path.

"I can do it," Ryou said. Air whistled harshly through his teeth as he exhaled in a huff. The slice burned, but Ryou was stronger than this. He lifted his head. Bakura lifted one eyebrow.

Ryou laughed a little, a slightly pained sound.

"You know, if our positions were reversed, we'd be in exactly the same spot," he said.

Bakura smiled tightly. "You're not wrong. Which is why your refusal is so… attractive," he said. "So willful and stubborn, my pretty little light. It is also why it's so hard not to simply pick you up and whisk you away."

"You're so full of it," Ryou scoffed, but the fluttering in his chest told a different story. He forced away the smile. He wasn't indulging Bakura, no matter how good it felt to hear his darker half talk like that.

Finally, he made it to the burrow's porch, where Dumbledore waited patiently by the door. He knocked three times when Ryou came to a panting stop.

He leaned against Bakura to catch his breath. Bakura grinned. Ryou flushed. "I'm just tired," he said, but he smiled back too.

A voice just inside the door called, "Who's there? Declare yourself!"

"It is I, Albus, bringing Ryou."

The door swung open. It was Mrs. Weasley, her hair a bit frazzled. "We only just got your owl," she said, before looking at Ryou. She froze in place. "Now just what have you gotten this poor boy into, I swear, Albus-"

"Molly," Dumbledore said graciously, "perhaps it might be best not to linger on doorsteps."

"Of course," she said beckoning them in. "Come on, in, in. Now what happened, poor dear?" She crowded close to Ryou, turning his head this way and that. His eyes were still slightly unfocused, but it wasn't a problem. Ryou clutched tighter at his side. Bakura slipped Ryou's arm around his shoulder and straightened, taking some of the weight off. Ryou gave him an appreciative look.

"My friend was attacked," he said. "Death eaters. We held them off, but one of them… Some kind of spell…" Ryou coughed, and the jarring was some new level of hell not yet experienced by mere mortals.

"Those bastards cut him with something. I'll kill them if I find them." Bakura added the last part in a mutter. The threats were downgrading. He was calming slightly. Small miracles.

"I'll be alright," Ryou assured her. "I just need a bath and some rest. Oh, my things-" Ryou said.

"They'll arrive in an hour," Dumbledore assured him.

Mrs. Weasley ushered him and Bakura towards the kitchen. "Come on, let's get you something to eat."

A large bowl of something hot and warm was slid in front of him, some kind of thick stew with hearty chunks of meat and carrot and various other vegetables. It looked and smelled delicious.

By the time Ryou turned back around, Mrs. Weasley had gone, back to whisper furiously at Dumbledore.

"I could listen if you want," Bakura offered.

Ryou shook his head. The first bite of stew went down rich and delicious. "I have a pretty good idea of what they're talking about."

By the time he had finished, Dumbledore was leaving again to collect Malik. Mrs. Weasley brought out a large collection of medical supplies. "Now," she said. "Let's get you fixed up."

Bakura helped him to his feet. Ryou pulled the grimy shirt off, the ripped side making it easier to pull off. He paused, holding it in his hands.

"Just toss it there. I'll see if I can do anything to save it," she said.

Hermione's head appeared at the top of the stairs. "Is someone here?" she called down.

"Hermione? I didn't know you were here," Ryou said.

"Ryou?" He heard her going down the stairs. She paused in the doorway, shocked. Oh, that was right.

His weight was divided between Bakura and a table, the bandages unwound and the skin barely sealed closed. Blood had run down the entirety of his side and the leg of his pants. His hair was full of sand and dirt and gore, clotted with viscera and tangles.

What an attractive picture he must have made then.

"What happened?" she asked. "Are you alright? Did Bakura-"

"Of course not," Bakura said, just as Ryou said, "No!"

Ryou yelped at the icy cold touch of fresh medicine along the wound. Mrs. Weasley apologized but didn't stop.

"My friend was being attacked. Death eaters. Agh! Ow! Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks."

"I can feel it too, Hikari," Bakura said. He gave Ryou a slightly stern look and Ryou laughed weakly.

"Ahahah, right. It's fine, Hermione. By the way, did you want to meet Malik?"

"Huh?" she said. "What were death eaters doing attacking? Why?"

More footsteps sounded on the stairs. "Hermione, where did you- oh, Ryou!" Ron sounded as surprised as Hermione had been.

"I'm fine," Ryou said quickly. The wound was clean and medicated now, and it looked remarkably better. Still terrible, but better.

"I can bandage him," Bakura said.

"I think not, young man," Mrs. Weasley said. "I want it done right. I'll be doing it."

Bakura snorted. "With what bandages?" he said. She looked at her hand, but the bandages were gone. Bakura held them up. Mrs. Weasley puzzled about how he could have taken them seemingly without moving. "I want it done right, too."

He began to bind Ryou's chest and torso tight. "Gah, can't breathe," Ryou protested. Bakura pulled it tighter, firm determination on his lips. Mrs. Weasley frowned, but seemed satisfied that Bakura knew what he was doing after a moment of watching.

"Five thousand years," Bakura muttered to Ryou. "Young man my ass." He stepped back and dusted off his hands. "There. Used to have one just like this," Bakura said. He trailed his finger so lightly over the line of the cut that Ryou couldn't even feel it. "Course, mine got infected. Almost the death of me. Good thing I was young."

Ryou wavered unsteadily to his feet, testing himself. It still hurt to stand, but less so. "How young?"

Bakura considered for a moment. "I think… ten? Yes, ten. I was lucky I didn't lose my hands. Taught me a lesson about stealing."

"That it's wrong?" Ryou teased with a wry grin.

Bakura shot him a pleased, devilish look. "That it's not enough to be good. You must be the best. And so I did."

"You were stealing at ten?" Ron asked incredulously. "That's not right, mate."

Bakura shot him a sideways look. "I was stealing at eight. I was the King of Thieves by 17, leading an army of bandits on plunders greater than your imagination. And I died at 21, in a glorious battle against one of the most powerful Pharaohs in Egypt's history. Age is but a number to an entity of thousands of years."

Ron's eyes were massive. "Oh."

They were saved further conversation by another knock on the door. "Malik!" Ryou cried with a smile, hobbling towards the door. He clutched his side in pain.

"I'll get it, Ryou, sit down and relax, why don't you?" Mrs. Weasley said, glaring disapprovingly at Bakura. Bakura stuck out his tongue like a child.

She vanished for a moment. Ryou returned to his seat, guided by Bakura. "So what happened to you?" Ron asked.

"Since both of you are here… I was talking with Harry earlier, when I got a call from Malik. His home was under attack from death eaters."

"But why were they going after him? What did they want?" Hermione asked.

"Remember what I said in the hospital wing? About how there were more people who can use the shadows?" Ryou asked.

Both nodded.

"Well, his whole family can use them. They've lived in Egypt for generations, keeping the tomb of the unnamed pharaoh safe. Malik is the first of his line to leave the tombs, and it isn't safe for him there anymore. Voldemort wants the shadows for himself, I think."

"Ryou, that's not good," Hermione said.

"Don't worry too much. There isn't a lot he can do now. The shadows aren't so easy to wield, and even harder to access in the first place," Ryou said.

Malik shuffled into the room. He still seemed a bit crestfallen from leaving home, but he brightened upon entering the room. "Geeze, Ryou, it's so cold here!"

He had his arms around himself, Odion's overlarge shirt drowning him in fabric. Ryou was caught between a smile and a frown. "I'm sorry you had to rip up your shirt."

Malik waved the comment away. "Nonsense. It was just a shirt. It saved your life didn't it? I'm a hero!" He jutted his chin out proudly.

Ryou laughed. Malik pointed a thumb back towards the other room. "That man grabbed your things. The trunk's in there."

"Great. Malik, meet Ron and Hermione. They're Gryffindors at Hogwarts. They're my classmates, and they'll be sixth years. Ron, Hermione, meet Malik."

"Nice to meet you," Hermione said. "We've heard a lot about you."

"Good things, of course," Malik said with a nod and a bit of a grin. "Now, Ryou, what the heck is a Gryffindor?"


	3. Chapter 3

"They seem nice," Malik said as he climbed into the bed. "It would be nice if the shadows were still a secret, but… I understand why you did it."

"I'm glad you're not mad," Ryou said. He flicked the light off.

The little attic room was small but cozy. What it lacked in space it made up for in charm. At the very least, the beds were warm, and Ryou was exhausted.

He'd been unable to wash up without considerable help from Bakura, with mixed results. His hair was clean of blood and sand, but a few new hickeys littered his neck and his back would be sore when he woke up. Still, it wasn't so bad, Ryou thought, smiling privately to himself. His cheeks grew a bit warm.

"Be a silly thing to get mad over. Your life was on the line. It's like my shirt. It's gone, but we'll make do. If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to hold fewer grudges."

"I noticed," Ryou said. "You're doing well."

"Yeah," Malik said softly. It was quiet for a long time, so long that Ryou though Malik had fallen asleep. Then Malik said softly, "Marik keeps wanting to get out. But… I don't want him destroying this. I kinda like it here. I want to meet the others, and eat more of that stew, and…"

"Go to Diagon Alley, and fly on a broom," Ryou added.

"Yeah."

"There's that big field outside. Bakura can help keep him under control. Just let him run wild for an hour or two and try to get him back under control. Keeping him locked up too long sounds… dangerous."

"Yeah… Sometimes he sleeps for weeks, and I don't even notice he's there. Sometimes if he doesn't come out every hour, he loses it and then…" Malik trailed off. "Then I lose it."

Ryou was quiet for a moment. "When I was really little, my family had a dog. I don't really remember him that well, but my dad did. He told me about him."

"Where did that come from?" Malik asked.

"Just listen," Ryou said. "He was a great dog. Mom took him on walks every day with us, and we went to the park every day. He was such a good dog. Well trained, did everything you told him… We kept him on a short leash, and he learned to stay close to us."

"Still not seeing the point."

"I'm getting there!" Ryou said. "Then one day, another dog just… lost it, I guess. Took a bite out of him, and there was nothing the vet could do. Mom was heartbroken. She didn't want another dog, but dad couldn't stand to see her upset. So he got another one."

Ryou frowned at the darkness. The memories were so hazy. He'd only heard the story once, but still…

"What happened?" Malik asked.

"Mom didn't want to see something like that happen to our new dog, so we stopped going to the park. The walks tapered out. Amane and I were sad, and we didn't really understand. We kept asking Mom to go for walks with us, we wanted this new dog to be just like our one. I guess we never noticed how badly behaved this dog had become."

"And?"

"The new dog wasn't as good. It never socialized with other dogs. It never learned what was and wasn't okay. We didn't train it. Just let it be, because Mom couldn't bear to discipline it with that same short leash. So when Amane and I finally convinced her to take the new dog for a walk…"

Malik was quiet. "No, it didn't… Did it?"

Ryou nodded. "Yes. That new dog was just as bad as the one that had hurt the old one. We had to put it down after it bit another dog. Mom never got another pet after that."

The sound of distant crickets had never seemed louder.

"You might be right," Malik said finally. Ryou heard the soft rustle of him turning around in his bed. "We'll just have to try and make this work."

* * *

Ryou rolled out of bed early the next morning. Everything felt stiff and sore, but he forced himself to his feet with a stretch. He took great care not to reopen the gash.

His fingers moved over it. The magic of the medicinal salve seemed to be working quickly enough. Days of healing had passed in a matter of hours while Ryou had slept.

"One thing the shadows can't do," Bakura said.

"Unfortunately," Ryou said. He rummaged through the trunk and pulled out a shirt. He tried to change, but stopped with the old shirt halfway around his head. "Um. Bakura?"

Bakura chuckled. "Don't tell me. You can't get the shirt off, can you?"

"Please help me," Ryou said pitifully. He struggled against the shirt, but the pain in his side was too great for dressing. Bakura guided the old shirt off and the new one over his head, kissing Ryou as his head popped through the collar. Ryou blushed and smiled up, returning it nervously.

He could have done this forever. To think, it had only been a few weeks.

Last Christmas, Ryou's first kiss had been a bit of a cruel joke, and then became a twisted abomination of fluttering feelings and a crush which Ryou couldn't make sense of.

Ryou couldn't forget the things that had happened, but at the same time... Just being near Bakura, with his promises of staying by Ryou's side for all eternity, had seemed better than any moment spent alone.

It had seemed scary at first, this weird attraction. Now it felt like it made sense. So Ryou wasn't yet used to visible displays of affection. That would come soon enough. Especially if Bakura got his way.

"You two are going to give me cavities," Malik said in a sleepy tone.

Ryou blushed crimson. "You're up!" He stepped back, but Bakura held him close. Malik rose, zombie-like, from his bed, his blond hair a mess. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Good morning," Malik said. He looked out the little window, confused. "What time is it?"

"Seven. I slept in a bit. Sorry if I woke you," Rupu said. Bakura's lips skimmed his neck and he flinched.

Malik watched them for a moment before falling back into the bed. "I'll just sleep a while longer."

"Alright. I'll be downstairs," Ryou said. He wriggled in Bakura's arms. "I think I can walk today."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "You just won't give up on that, will you?"

Ryou smiled. "You know you love it."

Bakura smirked. "I do."

Ryou took the stairs slowly. Bakura vanished, but he was keeping a close watch still. Mrs. Weasley was cooking breakfast with a blonde woman Ryou hadn't seen before.

"Good morning?" he said, looking between the two. Mrs. Weasley had a definite downturn to her lips every time that the woman wasn't looking.

The woman turned and smiled. She was remarkably beautiful, to the point where she did not seem to suit the cozy, homey kitchen she stood inside.

"Ah, 'ello, Reeoh!" she said in a thick French accent. His name was dragged out slightly. "Eet is wonderful to meet you. I saw you in ze papers and Bill has told me a beet about you. Eet is so interesting zat you can use such unusual magic!"

She had swept forward in this time, pressing a kiss to each cheek. Ryou's manners returned to him, and he returned the gesture. "Oh, it's nice to meet you. I guess you already know my name," he said with a smile. "And you are?"

"Fleur Delacour," she replied. Something seemed to slightly confuse her for a moment, but she quickly threw out a disarming smile. "Would you care for some breakfast? Eet should be ready soon."

"Sure. Thank you. Are you from France?" he asked politely.

"Yes, I attended Beauxbatons, but I did visit 'ogwarts for ze triwizard tournament. Eet was… Certainly eenteresting."

"There are other magic schools?"

"You did not know?" she asked. "Why, what do zey teach you at your school?"

Bakura appeared, invisible and incorporeal, between them, studying Fleur closely. "Something about her isn't right," he said.

/Huh?/

/She's radiating magic. Not intentionally, really. Almost like it's a part of her. If I would guess, it is making her appear more beautiful/

It was true. Now that Ryou looked, it seemed like a silver aura surrounded her, subtly giving her a radiant, glowing look. He blinked.

"Fleur, why do you look… ah… silver?" He wasn't sure if it would be rude to ask, but it was so strange.

She smiled. "My grandmuzzer, she vas a veela. Could you not tell?"

"I don't know what a veela is," Ryou confessed. "Sorry."

She told him, and he was surprised. "That would explain why Bakura noticed."

"Who?" she asked.

"Me," Bakura said, appearing beside Ryou. He grinned, baring his canine teeth at her, and put a possessive arm around Ryou.

Ryou rolled his eyes. Fleur looked at the two of them and smiled. "Ah, zat would explain eet."

"Explain what?" Ryou asked.

She smiled pityingly at him, like he was slow on the uptake and missing something very obvious. "I will give you some time alone." She laughed softly to herself, mystery solved, and returned to the kitchen.

Ryou frowned. "I don't understand. What was she talking about?"

Bakura started to laugh. "You're so oblivious, pretty little light. Her magic makes those attracted to her do stupid things. You aren't attracted to her. No stupid things. So what would you be?"

Ryou's eyes widened. "Oh. Oh!"

"And now she knows your little secret," Bakura said, nibbling on Ryou's ear. Ryou tried to brush him away.

"Stop teasing me about that. I told you, it's not a secret, I'm just… not used to it yet."

"Maybe if you said the words out loud, it would help," Bakura murmured.

"Bakurrraaa," Ryou grumbled. Fleur returned with a tray of breakfast foods.

"Ze two of you are precious," she said. Ryou was red to the tips of his ears.

Bakura was laughing, so Ryou shoved one of the pieces of toast into his mouth to silence him.

Fleur left once more with her own silvery laugh.

The others trickled into the room one by one over the next few hours, greeting Ryou with various degrees of warmth and wakefulness.

Ron seemed curiously fixated on Fleur, until Ryou realized that he couldn't help it.

Ginny ran up to him with a hug. "Ryou, I don't know you were coming here!"

"Ginny! Ow, just a little looser, please," he added with a wince.

She stepped back, frowning. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Ryou said. He flipped up the hem of his shirt just enough to reveal the lower edge of the bandage. "I got a bit scratched up, but it's nothing to worry about. I only just got here last night."

"What happened?" she asked. "Is Harry alright? Mum said you were with him."

"Harry's fine. I wasn't near him when it happened. He's safe back on Privet Drive."

Ginny seemed relieved. She sat down on the couch beside Ryou. "So what did happen, then?"

Ryou quickly rehashed the events in Egypt for Ginny's sake, while Ron and Hermione listened on. They hadn't quite gotten the entire story, but with almost everyone sitting around, it didn't hurt to cover it once and for all so that he could stop retelling the tale over and over again.

He kept it brief, mentioning mostly that there had been an attack, but the Ishtars had fended off the invaders with no small trouble. The house had burned to the ground, and the tomb was in desperate need of more protection. For safety, Malik was being sent away.

Just like Ryou last year, Malik was invited to the school.

"You said the shadows were dangerous," Ginny said. "Will it be alright to have both of you here together?"

Ryou nodded. "Problems with shadows, they don't come from two shadow mages being close by, necessarily. It's just that shadow users often stand on opposite sides of arguments, and not all people who wield them are good. But Malik is definitely good… now," Ryou added almost silently under his breath.

"So where is he?" she asked.

Bakura appeared on Ryou's other side, materializing with his arm around Ryou's shoulder. "He's awake," Bakura reported. "He's trying to find something to wear."

"Can you tell him he can borrow one of my shirts if he needs to?" Ryou asked. "We're close to the same size."

Bakura scowled. "I'm not a messenger bird. Uraeus, go tell him." Uraeus shot Bakura a dirty look, but vanished around the corner.

"Can he use magic?" Hermione asked.

"Of course-" Ryou started, before drawing suddenly short. He had no idea if Malik could use wizard magic. The shadows couldn't do the same things. "He… should be fine?"

"You don't sound sure," Hermione said.

Ryou's shoulders sagged. "No, not really. I hope this goes okay. By the way, Hermione, do you know when we'll get our exam scores back?"

She looked horrified. "No, but I know I failed at least one of them. And in Ancient runes, I-"

Uraeus had returned. "He'ssss on hisss way." Ryou slid the little snake onto his shoulder with a smile.

"Thank you, Uraeus."

"What did he say?" Ginny asked.

"Ginny, meet my best friend, Malik Ishtar," Ryou said happily. Malik trudged down the stairs, a yawn on his lips.

His hair had been straightened out a bit, and he looked more awake than earlier.

"Mmm, morning Ryou," Malik said in Japanese.

"You realize you're in England, right?" Bakura said in his ancient dialect of Arabic. He had appeared immediately behind Malik, silent as the grave, making Malik jump in surprise.

"Ack! Don't do that!" he said, switching thoughtlessly to Arabic without missing a beat.

Ryou glared at both of them. "Bakura, stop acting like a child," Ryou said firmly in English. Malik blinked, looking at the collection of people in the room. He seemed to recall where he was.

"Ha, sorry," Malik said in English to the group, scratching the back of his head. "Mmm, it smells good down here. Is that breakfast?"

Hermione was the first to smile and stand up. "Ron's mum has breakfast ready in the kitchen. If you don't mind me asking, Malik, how many languages do you speak?"

Malik thought for a moment. "Ah, well, I grew up with Arabic, both modern and a 5,000 year old dialect, and I learned English from television and Japanese from card games."

Ryou snorted. "Malik, don't mess with them."

Malik grinned impishly. "Oh, fine. I learned English from my sister and Japanese when I was abroad abroad. Happy now, Ryou?"

Ryou smiled. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Ginny was glaring darkly at Bakura.

/ _Could you show Malik the kitchen?_ / Ryou sent over the mind link. Bakura glanced at Ginny, then back at Ryou, and shrugged.

"Come along, Malik, I want bacon." Malik followed with a whoop.

It was a bit quiet, a bit awkward in the room. The girls shifted uneasily, until Hermione stood up. "I… I think I'll get some breakfast too."

Ginny still glared at the door where Bakura vanished. She sighed and turned her head away.

"Ginny, is everything alright?" Ryou asked. Her gaze remained fixed on a curled up corner of the rug, before she sighed once more.

"I just… I don't trust him for some reason. Not really. Something about him seems like he's always lying. I mean, he's possessing you, Ryou. You act like you're okay with this, but what if you've just gotten so used to it that you don't realize it isn't right?"

"But Ginny, Bakura's changed-"

"You say that," Ginny interrupted, "like it's supposed to make him sound better. But it just sounds like he used to be worse. Like you're justifying whatever awful things he does because it's still comparatively better. He… He doesn't hurt you, does he?" she asked.

"What?" Ryou said incredulously. "What would make you think-"

Ginny shook her head. "Just be happy and healthy, Ryou. No relationship is worth getting hurt over like that."

"Ginny, I'm not getting hurt," Ryou protested. Ginny jabbed her finger into his stomach, narrowly missing the cut.

"Yes you are." Her eyes landed on the long, deep, white scar across Ryou's upper arm. "Has Bakura ever hurt you? Can you tell me honestly that he's never done anything to you?"

Ryou hesitated. The ring's golden tines were so cold on his chest, even through the bandages. Ryou thumbed the scar on his arm without even thinking.

Ginny shook her head. "Ryou. You can't make excuses for-"

Ryou found himself on his feet before he even knew it. "This isn't me making excuses or thinking I can fix him. This is me knowing that he is already trying to fix himself. Bakura has changed. He's got a long way left to go still, yes. But this isn't something that happens overnight, and it certainly isn't your place to question!" Ryou said sharply.

Ginny recoiled as if she'd been slapped. The anger cooled nearly immediately.

"I- I'm sorry Ginny. I don't know where that came from I-"

Ginny looked at his face and sighed. "I just… I don't like him, and I don't like what he does. When I saw the shadow realm, I finally saw why you were so hesitant to tell us about it. It's… horrible. Hungry."

"Exactly how I would put it," Ryou said.

"If there was a way to get rid of him, I wish you would just… Try. Him possessing you, it doesn't seem like the best thing."

"I can't do that," Ryou said. "Maybe you'll understand one day why I just can't." Ryou turned and headed for the kitchen.

* * *

Ron glowered into his eggs and bacon. "I don't get why he and Ginny have to spend so much time together."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "They're friends, Ron. It's not like she's dating him."

"How many boyfriends has she had?" Ron continued. He bit furiously into a piece of toast.

The bloke in the corner, Malik, chuckled quietly. Ron ignored him. He was pretty strange. Ron wasn't sure what to make of him yet. It didn't help that he was pretty chummy with that weird Bakura bloke, and something about Bakura still didn't sit quite right with Ron.

Maybe it was the way he looked down his nose at all of them, like he thought he was superior in every way to them, like he knew better and was better. Maybe it was because, deep down, he might have been. No, Bakura had to be lying about the stealing thing, the arrogant git.

Malik seemed a bit conceited as well. He didn't talk much to them, spending most of the time talking in other languages to Bakura and Ryou. Ryou at least made an effort to switch them back to English, but Bakura…

Well, it didn't make a whole lot of sense for someone like Ryou to be friends with people like these. Except Ryou had also been spending quite a bit of time with Ginny, and it was starting to drive Ron up the wall.

"She can make her own decisions, Ron," Hermione said disapprovingly. "Plus, I think she's dating Michael Corner. Wait, no, she dumped him, actually."

Ron grumbled to himself. "See what I mean?"

"You don't have to worry about Ryou," Malik chimed in, laughing again.

Ron glared. "You would stick up for him. I don't want him dating my sister. The last thing she needs is-"

Malik snorted. "It's not that. Honestly, you have absolutely nothing to worry about."

Now Bakura was smirking, that same shit-eating grin he always seemed to wear when he was withholding information that someone wanted. "Hmmm, are you worried about what little Ryou would do to her? All of that darkness at his beck and call. You know he can use the shadows too," he drawled.

Malik busted out laughing and babbled something to Bakura in another language, and Bakura responded in kind.

Ron glowered. Hermione rolled her eyes. "They're just baiting you, Ron. Aren't you, Malik?"

He smiled innocently. "What, me? What can I say? I like to poke things with sticks and see what crawls out."

"I still don't like him with her." Ron leaned in his chair, trying to see the two of them in the living room. They were sitting close to one another on the couch, talking quietly about something or other.

Malik was choking on laughter.

"Would you stop that?" Ron said. "What's so funny?"

Malik bit his lip. "Ron, it's not going to happen. It's never going to happen."

"It better not," Bakura said in a slight warning tone.

Malik rolled his eyes. "Don't be possessive and scary. You know Ryou doesn't like that."

Ron looked at them skeptically. "Really, and why will it never happen?" he asked. They were making this up, messing with him or something. Poking things with sticks.

"Have you not noticed?" Malik asked. Ron stared at him doubtfully. "You haven't? Ahahaha!"

Both he and Bakura were laughing now.

"It's pretty obvious that Ryou is G-A-Y in love with Bakura. Isn't that right, Bakura-kun?" Malik said.

"What?" Ron managed, pausing with his fork inches from his mouth.

Bakura shoved Malik goodnaturedly. "Hmmm, I believe you pronounced -sama incorrectly. Bakura-sama. Come on, now, Malik, is it so hard?

"You don't make Ryou call you Bakura-sama, you bastard," Malik said with a grin.

"Yes well our relationship is slightly different, now, isn't it, Malik?" Bakura said.

Ron dropped his fork, sputtering. "Wait, hold on, Ryou is-"

Bakura looked at him with that same haughty, know-it-all look he always wore, before it morphed into something predatory. "But of course. You look uncomfortable. Is it because he does not share your affections for the female form? Or because he prefers me to your sister?"

Malik giggled again, something that edged along the line of sanity. A flicker of horror crossed his face as it did.

Bakura looked back at him. He said something in another language. It sounded unlike when Ryou spoke Japanese, so Ron assumed it was probably some version of Arabic. Their voices were low and urgent. Malik turned and bolted out the front door.

"What was that about?" Ron asked.

Bakura stood, all traces of amusement wiped clean from his face. He looked almost scary. No, it was scary. Cold and emotionless and void of anything that seemed remotely human.

"It's none of your concern."

Bakura looked up and away as though someone had called his name. Ryou was walking through the archway.

Ryou froze momentarily, only to bolt outside without a single word exchanged. Bakura vanished into a curl of smoke-like darkness.

Hermione stood up. "Should we go after them?"

Ron shook his head. This was getting to be too much. "Honestly, it's more trouble than it's worth," he finally said. "One boring day, that's all I ask for."

* * *

Outside, Malik was clutching his head, curled into a loose fetal position in a distant field. Ryou ran towards him.

"Malik! Malik, are you alright?" Ryou stumbled over a cleft of grass.

"Stay back! Gahh," Malik protested, turning away. "No, Marik, not now!"

"It's fine. Let him out. We can keep an eye on him," Bakura said. Ryou pulled up short a small distance away.

Malik whimpered for several seconds before he went limp. He laid there motionless for an even three count, before his shadow began to twist and lengthen and solidify into a three dimensional, human-like form.

Marik rose up, cackling.

"Ah, yes, it's good to be back!" he cried, throwing his head back and his arms out.

"Marik," Bakura said evenly.

"Thiefling," Marik responded. Deranged glee glittered in his violet eyes. He turned to Malik. "Hikari-mine, why don't you want to play? You kept me in the dark."

"I told you, this isn't the time for that." Malik lifted his head slowly, glaring at Marik.

"If 'Kura-kun can tell the others his little secrets, why can't Marik tell them his?" Marik asked. His head cocked to one side like an inquisitive puppy.

"Because I said no, Marik!" Malik said.

Marik grinned. "Haha, but Odion isn't here, so that means I can do as I like."

"No, it means you'll be on your best behavior," Ryou corrected firmly.

Marik turned to face Ryou. "Yes, kitten. I do fear you and your claws." His eyes went wide and his teeth bared happily. "Oooh, kitten. Yes, a good name for you. Inside, a vicious beast. But outside, harmless yet."

Unsure if this was an insult or compliment in Marik's mind, Ryou took a cautious step forward. If he dignified the comment with a response, it would only encourage him. "So why did you want to play, Marik?" he asked.

Marik stuck out his tongue. "Hikari-mine didn't let me enjoy my game fully the last time I came out. I wanted to finish what was started. But it seems the fun is long gone now." He looked around the broad, empty field they stood in. A few birds flew above their heads.

Marik cocked his head, and one bird fell from the sky in a death spiral, making the most ungodly noise as it tumbled downward. Shadow vapors curled up to the cloudy grey sky. Bloodlust glittered in his eyes as the bird collided with the ground with a snap and abruptly fell silent. Ryou winced. Malik looked like he was going to be sick.

Bakura glowered. "Could you perhaps not disgust our lights? Surely you realize how sickening that is."

Marik chuckled. "You say that, thief, like you're so much better than me. But we both know you've personally delivered more souls to the afterlife than I could ever dream of doing. Do you keep track of the number of lives you've taken? Or is it like the number of stars in the sky or droplets of water to ever cross your tongue, so massive and at the same time inconsequential that you don't even bother to remember?"

Bakura narrowed his eyes, and Marik's grin tightened.

"You're putting on such a good act, thief. But I can see murder in your eyes. You want to protect your lighter half same as me, and you'll go to the same lengths as me, right? Tell me I'm wrong, and I'll return to Malik's mind right now."

Bakura's lips pressed into a thin line, then he smiled easily. "You've got me, Marik. I would go to any lengths to protect my Yadonushi. But the difference is that I know where the line is drawn between necessary and overkill."

"Your line has moved. You've been tamed. How do you know if what you're doing is enough?" Marik asked. Bakura's expression never changed, but Ryou still wondered if there had been a brief flicker in his eyes.

As for Marik, his eyes went curiously vacant for a minute, then sharpened again with brilliant mania. He turned his nose upward to the sky and inhaled deeply. "There's darkness in the air."

"What do you mean?" Malik asked. Ryou could smell nothing, but Bakura's body went stock still, the way a hunting dog's might. His head twisted up and he sniffed.

"You're right," Bakura said. His gaze shifted left and right, analyzing the open field around them. "It feels familiar somehow, but I can't tell…"

"I don't recognize it," Marik said. He stalked to Malik's side and crouched defensively in front of him. The gesture was oddly protective. "It won't touch hikari-mine!" he growled.

"It's gone already," Bakura said, but he still shifted his body weight closer toward Ryou, subtly closing the distance between them. "What was it?"

"I have no idea what the two of you are talking about," Ryou said.

Malik nodded, taking his feet once again. He pushed Marik away from him. "It's alright, they're just batshit, as usual. Maybe being sane and being the darker half are mutually exclusive."

Ryou laughed. As Marik puzzled over the words, Bakura cast one more look around the field. His shoulders were still tense, and a knife had ended up in his fingers sometime in the last several seconds. The dagger was devilish and black and looked wickedly sharp. Nothing had ever seemed to suit Bakura better.

Bakura popped his neck with a quick crack. Black fabric fluttered down from his shoulders at the motion, and suddenly he was dressed in the old trench coat from before the Memory Board had consumed Ryou's life. "Marik, do you think you could return to your soul room?"

"Don't wanna," Marik replied, crossing his arms over his chest and sticking his tongue out like a petulant child.

"I'll make a deal with you. Return to your soul room and ensure that no harm comes to either of our lights, and you and I will go out tonight and finish your game. Does that sound good to you?" Bakura asked.

Marik's eyes glittered. "I do like the sound of that. I'll hold you to that, tomb robber."

Bakura nodded. "Good. Ryou, return to the burrow. I'll be back soon."

"What's going on?" Ryou asked. "You should tell me-"

"I don't know what it is, but I'm going to find out," Bakura said. "It's dangerous in the open. At least with the wizards, there are more targets to protect you."

Ryou glared. "My friends aren't meat shields."

"I never said they were. I implied it. But if it's more death eaters, then I'd rather you be surrounded by your own kind than alone," Bakura said. "Sound reasonable?"

Marik began pushing Ryou towards the burrow, grinning gleefully. "Come on, kitten. The tomb robber wants you safe in the rabbit burrow, hidden from all the nasty predators." Ryou struggled to get back to Bakura, but the spirit was stalking away in the other direction.

Malik just shook his head. "Marik, I'll get Ryou back to the burrow. Can you return to the soul room?"

Marik considered it for a prolonged moment and finally sighed, as though this were all some great burden on him. "Fine, hikari-mine, I suppose I can. But the first sign of bloodshed and I will return," Marik vowed.

"I would expect no less," Ryou said. Marik nodded and vanished. Bakura was long gone by now. Ryou sighed. "Well, I guess we can return to the burrow now. I'm sure the others are wondering what happened to us. I'm sure they noticed us running out like the house was on fire."

"What do I say?" Malik asked. "They don't like Bakura, and he hasn't done anything outright horrible yet. What would they say if they saw Marik?" He glanced back at the bird on the ground behind them.

Ryou considered it as they walked. He hadn't realized they'd gotten so far from the house. "Claustrophobia, maybe? Too many people, too small a space. I don't know."

Malik grinned. "Since when does innocent little Ryou tell blatant lies?" he teased.

Ryou shrugged. "Since innocent Ryou decided that you can't please everyone," he said. He turned to face the stormy sky. It looked like it would spill at any moment, given the slightest provocation.

He'd been lying more often lately. Was it bad? It hadn't hurt anyone yet. His eyes closed and he followed the soft whispering sounds of Malik's footfalls in the grass. Summer suddenly felt like an eternity.

* * *

 **Quick question for everyone: how into the shipping should I go? I've been trying to keep it tasteful so far. Like, it's there, but there's plot too. Should I include more? Less? Just wondering what readers' opinions are. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

Bakura didn't return until nearly nightfall. Keeping Marik under control wasn't so difficult. Apparently Bakura's offer had been more enticing than it had initially seemed. Which made spending the day at the burrow easier by half.

Of course, Ron kept looking at him funny, Ginny was seemingly avoiding him, and Hermione was pestering both Malik and him for more information about Egypt.

Marik grew more agitated as dusk drew close, and only a few thinly veiled threats kept him in check. Talking about the past made him unhappy. But it was a subject both Malik and Ryou had learned quite a bit about, and Hermione was eager to hear the stories all the same.

A finger tapped Ryou's shoulder, making him jump. "Miss me?" Bakura said, swooping down to plant a kiss on Ryou's lips.

"But, Hermione is-" Ryou sputtered.

Bakura grinned into the kiss. "She already knows. They all know." He feathered a small trail of kisses down Ryou's throat and then focused his lips on a small hollow. Ryou gasped.

Bakura stood up with an impish grin, turning to Malik. "I'll be outside." Ryou's face was red. He threw a pillow at Bakura, but the spirit was long gone. Malik stood up. He looked vaguely nauseous.

"Not looking forward to this," Malik said.

Ryou gave him a pitying smile. "Just remember why you're doing it."

Malik mimed retching. "Like I could forget." He hopped up and hurried to the door. "See ya in the morning, Ryou!"

Hermione watched him leave. "Where are they going?"

The lie from earlier was easy enough. "Malik gets claustrophobic. Sometimes he just needs to spend some time out and away."

"But why is he going with Bakura?" Hermione asked. Her eyes were sharp and narrowed in thought.

Ryou shrugged. "Bakura likes going out at night."

She watched his face for any signs of deception, but that was the truest thing Ryou had said all night. Nighttime was Bakura's element in a way that the sun never could. The shadows embraced him like a second home. It was where Bakura was comfortable.

Ryou blinked. "Wait, all of you know? About…?" He moved his arms around.

Hermione nodded. "I wasn't going to say anything, since you looked uncomfortable with the idea, but…"

Ryou flushed. "Bakura is just… showy. I don't know why he likes to do that around other people so much. Or why he likes leaving marks so much," Ryou added.

He swiped his thumb slightly along his neck. Makeup came up in a little smudge, revealing a reddish purple bruise at the base of his throat, almost hidden by the shirt.

"It's actually slightly annoying," he added.

Hermione pressed her lips together. "Well… nevermind," she said, shaking her head. Ryou watched her face for a sign that she'd say more, but Hermione clearly thought better of it.

They sat in uncomfortable silence. Ryou glanced at the only clock on the wall that actually told time. It was getting late. Ryou stood up, popping his stiff neck.

"Goodnight, Hermione," he said. She bid him good night, and he returned to his room. She'd wanted to say something, but what? It mustn't have been that important then.

* * *

When Harry finally arrived, it was exciting for everyone. He showed up early in the middle of the night, apparently having convinced the newest professor to come teach at Hogwarts. His description of Slughorn was certainly interesting.

Marik was calmer after the night out, but neither Bakura nor Malik seemed inclined to share what had happened. In fact, Malik had run into the bathroom and thrown up. Bakura just shrugged.

Ryou's wound continued to heal, and by the end of the first week, he was well enough to stop wearing the bandages. Bakura dragged a long, thin finger down the line of the scar, which would likely never fully go away.

"It's ugly, isn't it?" Ryou admitted.

Bakura shook his head. "Nothing about you is ugly. Not this scar, not any of the others. They are a badge of your honor, your experience in life, lessons learned. They are terrible and beautiful and you should not worry what others may think of them."

Ryou smiled and pecked Bakura on the cheek. "Then why don't you wear any of your old scars?" he teased.

"I haven't earned them in this form. Also…" Bakura broke off, looking a bit sheepish. "I had… Quite a few scars. Yours are beautiful, light. Mine were…"

Ryou laughed. "Hypocrite."

Uraeus shook his head. "No, he isssn't kidding. Bakura wasss ugly. He's jussst vain enough to ussse thiss form inssstead.

Ryou rolled his eyes and climbed out of the bed. "Sounds like someone had some beauty image problems in Egypt," he said with a chuckle.

OWLS came back that morning, much to Hermione's chagrin. Ryou wasn't sure how he'd done, since he'd started so late in his magical education. Most other students had five years of precious time to learn all of these spells. Ryou had to cram it into one.

However, opening his letter up, he wasn't too disappointed. He had gotten an Outstanding in Potions, his only one. Transfiguration was abysmal, but he was terrible at it anyway. Charms was adequate, and he did surprisingly well in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry's tutoring had seemed to help.

He'd have done better if he hadn't been so stressed out about Bakura and a thousand other things, but there were worse grades. His endless hard work seemed to show.

He also figured he could possibly convince Professor McGonagall to let him continue through her class, despite the poor grade, since it had been his first year, after all, and he'd made so much improvement in a short time.

Most exciting was the fact that he would be unconditionally allowed to continue potions, a particular favorite of his.

Harry seemed crestfallen about his own grades.

"These are about like mine," Ryou said, glancing down the line of letters. Harry had done better in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration, but worse in History of Magic and Divination.

"Can't be an auror without potions, though," Harry said, looking a bit crestfallen. Ryou patted him on the back. Maybe he couldn't get Harry into potions. He could at least try to make Harry feel better.

* * *

"Malik, don't you want to learn magic?" Ryou asked.

Malik leaned back on the couch, eating directly from a bag of potato crisps. Ryou wasn't sure when or where he found it, but it didn't look like anything Mrs. Weasley would have purchased.

He smacked his lips and licked his fingers clean. "Right now? School doesn't start for, like, months," he said. "Plus, I don't have a wand like you do."

"Mr. Weasley offered to take you out to get one," Ryou said. "And you could try out mine if you really wanted to." Ryou dropped a stack of books onto the little bed stand beside Malik's bed.

Malik eyes the stack uneasily. "Wait, those aren't all for me, are they?"

Ryou nodded. "Dumbledore wanted to have you start at the fifth year level like I did, but I managed to convince him to let you join our year. I know you don't really care about OWL and NEWT scores."

"You're right," Malik said. He offered one of the chips to Ryou. "Want one?"

Ryou shook his head and Malik ate it instead. He reached over and grabbed the top book off the stack.

"Man, that's a lot of books. I'm never going to get through all of those," Malik commented, turning the first year text this way and that.

Ryou shrugged. "It's a lot, but I made it through alright."

Malik grinned. "Did you do anything besides study last year?"

Ryou stared pointedly at the ceiling. "... Yes?"

"Really? What?" Malik asked.

Ryou cracked a small smile. "Chess with Bakura."

Malik tossed a pillow at Ryou's head. "You're such a nerd!" he laughed. "Alright, it's my mission now to make sure you have the best year ever."

Ryou lobbed the pillow back. "Shouldn't you worry about studying?"

Malik flicked his fingers dismissively through the air. "Yeah yeah, I'll do that too. But you and I are going to party like no other."

Ryou laughed. "You're crazy."

Malik hummed. "Speaking of crazy, Marik's been really mellow lately. Bakura must have helped him burn off a lot of steam."

"That's good. Let us know if it happens again. Don't wait too long, either," Ryou advised.

"Yeah, okay Ishizu," Malik said. Worry crinkled in the corners of his eyes. He was trying to joke, but Ryou could see that there were traces of genuine fear lurking just below the surface.

"So, what are you doing up here all by yourself?" Ryou asked.

Malik stared at the ceiling. "... Talking."

"To Marik?" Ryou asked.

Malik nodded. "He's not forcing his way out right now, but he still wants to be aware. I don't know why though. Usually he tunes everything out unless I'm feeling stressed."

"Things are changing for you, Malik. You lost your house, you're in a new place with strange people, and there's magic everywhere in the air. It can be overwhelming for anyone. Maybe you're stressed and just don't know it."

Malik mouthed silent words at the ceiling. "Maybe. But there's more to it. Somehow. I can't really explain it. Marik says something is stirring in the darkness. He won't admit it, but… there's a chance that it has him worried. And if Marik is worried…"

"Is he capable of worry?" Ryou asked. Marik was an entity built of hate and rage and misery and all of Malik's bitterest emotions, given life through the darkness of the shadows. Worry seemed oddly human for him.

Malik could only shrug. "Who knows? It wouldn't surprise me, not anymore. But if he says something bad is out there… How could it be worse than what we've already seen?"

Ryou chewed his bottom lip. He should say something. But did Malik really need another thing to worry about? The dreams were just that, dreams. That was all, for now. But…

Ryou shook his head. Waiting a day or two to tell him wouldn't hurt. "Harry and the others are playing a quick game of quidditch outside. Want to watch?"

Malik quirked an eyebrow as he sat back up again. "What's quidditch?"

Ryou grinned. "Come on, I'll explain it to you." Glad for the distraction, Ryou beckoned Malik out of bed and outside, explaining as they went the basic idea of the game.

"You realize all of this sounds crazy, right?" Malik said.

"Yeah, it does, but it's actually kind of fun to watch. Plus, flying, Malik!"

"I think I've had enough airtime on that blimp," he replied. "I'll just watch from the ground, if that's alright."

Ryou shrugged. "Suit yourself." Above their heads, the four Gryffindors played a thrown together game of two on two quidditch. Ryou sat on the grass to watch and Malik settled beside him.

This whole year would be such a stark contrast from last year. Ryou could already tell. But just how different it would be was yet to be seen, and Ryou could only hope that nothing went wrong.

Still, as Ryou's newest friends flew around above their heads, it was easy to forget all the bad things brewing in the world around them. Simple really, just to sit back and snooze in the midday sun.

* * *

The summer passed in a warm haze. Malik and he spent much of their time dueling in the fresh air and sunshine while the others flew around.

Sometimes Bakura needed to take Marik out in the night to play one of his 'games', but even Marik seemed calmed by the burrow's cozy vacation feel. That didn't stop strange appearances of dead animals cropping up in their bedroom, of course. But it did help limit the number of times Ryou awoke to a glassy eyed rodent or feline splayed across the floor, and that was a small miracle as far as these things went.

Malik played off the animal corpses like they were nothing, but they noticeably shook him up a little.

"Are you sure he's in control of himself?" Ryou asked, growing worried.

Malik was slightly pale. "Mostly?" He sounded unsure, lower lip sliding between his teeth in a rare nervous gesture.

"I'll keep him under control," Bakura promised. "You have nothing to fear from that psycho, Hikari."

"I'm worried about Malik too, idiot," Ryou said, giving Bakura a gentle shove, but Bakura was right. Ryou was scared of Marik.

Some combination of his remorseless slaughtering of animals for some sick combination of pleasure and sport, and his own territorial over-protectiveness of Malik reminded Ryou of how Bakura had once acted. The only difference was that Bakura was slightly more civil now, and Marik didn't appear to be capable of anything resembling self control.

Ryou curled a bit closer to Bakura. "Will you ever tell me what happened last week? That day you ran off?"

Bakura pressed his lips right together. "I couldn't find anything. There's nothing for you to worry about."

"Because you would tell me if there was, right?" Ryou said pointedly.

Bakura grinned. "Of course, my precious light. Would you like to play a game today? There's chess, or we could have ourselves a duel in the kitchen."

Ryou thought it over. "Let's go duel. I haven't played in a while and I'm feeling rusty."

"Mind if I watch?" Malik asked.

Ryou grinned and nodded. "Go ahead, I don't mind. In fact, maybe you can make sure Bakura doesn't cheat!"

"I never cheat," Bakura shot back. "I may bend the rules but I don't break them. Unlike a certain pharaoh," he added with a dark look.

"By the way, Ryou," Malik said as they headed downstairs. "Do we need to be worried about Yugi and the others?"

Ryou shook his head. "I don't think so. The pharaoh is with his people, isn't he? And Yugi can't access the shadows or regular magic. He has nothing Voldemort would want. Not even information. Japan is so far away, too…"

"That's true," Malik said. "He does know what happened in the memory world, though…"

"So does Bakura," Ryou said, looking at his darker half sideways. "Not that he'll tell me anything…"

"You don't need to know the horrible things I did back then," Bakura said, a bit rougher than necessary.

Ryou eyed him but said nothing. They weren't going to get into this old argument again. Not when the day was going so well.

They dueled, and the others even dropped by to watch for a while before going out to their own game. They tried to explain the rules, but Ryou and Bakura's decks were designed around exploiting such small little sub-rules built into the very core of the game that it was tough to make anything make sense.

The winner, Bakura, dueled against Malik. He won that match as well. The day dragged slowly on. All seemed well.

When Harry's birthday rolled around, worrying news arrived at the burrow.

"Ollivander's been kidnapped?" Ryou asked, shocked. "But how is Malik going to get a wand?"

"It's fine," Malik said with a cough. "I'm not worried about it."

"There's a wand shop on Hogsmeade," Mr. Weasley said. "Another branch of Ollivanders. Malik, you can get your wand from there before classes begin."

"Still, why would Voldemort take Ollivander? He seemed like such a nice old man," Ryou said.

Mr. Weasley didn't have an answer. "We don't known that he was kidnapped. There's no sign of a struggle. He's just gone."

Ryou stared at his slice of birthday cake slightly sullenly. Voldemort wanted something. Now that everyone knew he was alive, he wasn't lurking in the shadows any longer. He would go to whatever lengths necessary. And that was a bit worrying.

The day after, their lists came in from Hogwarts. Harry had made Quidditch team captain for Gryffindor.

"Great job," Ryou said, clapping Harry on the back. Mrs. Wesley just looked vaguely distressed.

"Well, no point in putting of Diagon Alley any longer, not now that you've got those," she said, holding up Ron's list to read. "As long as your father isn't working, we can go on Saturday. I'm not going there without him."

Malik leaned over to Ryou. "What's Diagon Alley again?"

Ryou excitedly explained, remembering fondly his first glimpse of the magical shops hidden behind a pub. Saturday simply couldn't come fast enough.

When it finally did, everyone was buzzing at breakfast. Mrs. Weasley looked tense. Bill, Fleur's fiancé, even arrived, a little sachet of gold in hand. He slid it across the table to Harry, explaining that it took most people about five hours to get their gold with all of the security currently in place.

"Oh, Ryou," Hermione said. "Don't you want to be a cursebreaker?"

Ryou blinked. He'd mentioned it only once when they'd gotten their grades. "Yes. You remembered?"

"Bill is a cursebreaker too. He works in Egypt," Hermione said.

Ryou's eyes went wide. "Wow, really? What is the job like? Is it like normal archaeology? I heard cursebreakers work for goblins, what is that like?"

Bill cracked a grin. "Ryou Bakura, right? I've met your dad a few times."

Ryou's smile wiped away instantly. "Oh. You have?"

Bill must have noticed the sudden change on his face. "I asked him why he doesn't ever talk about you."

"He pretends I don't exist," Ryou said, looking at the floor. "I'm only a thorn in his side."

Bill crossed his arms. "You know, he was surprised I even knew you. Told him I knew you were going to Hogwarts with Ron. And he said something."

"What?" Ryou asked dully.

"He knows he's put you through a lot. But Ryou, he's proud of you, and he's honestly genuinely worried about the ancient curse you've got on you. He said… He said it was his fault."

"He's the one who gave me the ring," Ryou said. "Someone sold it to him as a souvenir. But as soon as I touched it… Well, I'm the only one the ring would accept, so it would have found its way to me regardless. It's not as much his fault as you might think…"

Defending his father like this felt strange, but it was the truth. Still…

"But he was probably just saying that so he'd sound like a better father," Ryou said. "He's actually always disappointed in me. I'm pretty useless." His chest felt unusually tight as he said this.

Bakura appeared at his back and squeezed his shoulder. Ryou leaned back into the touch.

Bill looked from Ryou to Bakura with a curious expression before standing. "Hey, Ryou, I've got to get back to work, but if you ever have any questions, just send me an owl, alright? Anything you feel like asking."

Ryou nodded. "Thanks."

"I'm serious. Anything at all," Bill insisted.

Fleur swept up and pressed a swift kiss to his cheek. "Eesn't 'e so thoughtful?" she said adoringly, beginning to stroke his nose. Ginny mimed throwing up into her cornflakes and Harry choked on his cereal.

The car arrived soon after. Magic within had made its inside appear vastly larger than its exterior made seem possible, despite the numerous circles Ryou and Malik paced around the outside.

"It's bigger on the inside!" Ryou said delightedly, and Hermione couldn't help but giggle. Ron looked puzzled. Ryou and Hermione just exchanged a grin. "It's a nerdy muggle thing," he added.

They managed to fit themselves inside and they were off to Diagon Alley. As with the last time Ryou had gone there, they drove until they reached a little pub called the Leaky Cauldron.

Standing in front of it was a familiar gigantic form. Ryou remembered him instantly from the strange and often dangerous Care of Magical Creatures classes. It was Hagrid. He crushed Harry in a massive hug the moment he left the car.

Malik's eyes were as large as saucers. "Who is that?" he asked.

"He's one of the professors at the school," Ryou said.

Malik looked doubtful. "He's the one in charge of keeping the Death Eaters away? He doesn't look very… ah…" He gestured vaguely at the air.

"Don't worry, it'll be more than enough," Ryou said. His lips pursed. He hoped.

Hagrid could withstand quite a bit of magic, if the stories from last year were any indication, but still. Ryou had rather expected a small army of Aurors to join them on their little adventure. They could only hope that the Death Eaters wouldn't be so bold as to attack a public place in broad daylight.

Inside, the pub was strangely empty. The tables, which Ryou once remembered being packed full of unquestionably magical people, sat bare and drinkless. Only Tom remained, sadly cleaning out an already spotless glass.

"Looks a bit dreary," Malik commented.

"It just looks like this today, I'm sure…" Ryou said doubtfully. "Diagon Alley should be much more impressive. Just wait till you see it."

They were led back behind the pub, where the entrance awaited. Ryou couldn't help but grin and eagerly nudge Malik as the bricks began to slide back and away, forming a tall archway which led to cobblestone streets and shops.

Ryou's expression fell instantly. Everything was different now. The colors that had greeted him only a year ago were now replaced with large, dull violet Ministry of Magic posters that covered every inch of open space. Shambling shopfronts and boarded up windows were dressed with wanted posters showing the sneering faces of escaped Death Eaters.

Malik looked around, not smiling.

"It's so different," Ryou whispered.

"It doesn't always look like this, does it?" Malik asked. He stopped at one of the wanted posters, touching the moving, sneering face of Bellatrix Lestrange. It was as though someone had poured a glassful of ice down the back of Ryou's shirt. He shook his head and looked away.

"No, not at all," Ryou said. "People are scared. You're not the only one who's been attacked." Ollivanders seemed a bleak testament to the fact.

"At least I'm not the only one," Malik said, trying for a joke, but the dark expressions on the faces of every witch and wizard that walked these streets seemed to make it fall flat. Everyone was afraid. Better to keep their heads down and acknowledge no one than to talk and make a target.

"Madam Malkin's first, I think," Mrs. Weasley clucked. "Hermione wants new dress robes, Ron's showing too much ankle, Malik will need some for classes, and Harry, Ryou, you two must need new ones too, you've grown so much. Come on."

Mr. Weasley shook his head. "We shouldn't spend too much time around here. It might be faster if we split up. Let those five go with Hagrid, and we'll go to Flourish and Blotts and get books?"

Hagrid assured Mrs. Weasley that they would be safe with him, and they split into two groups. Hagrid led them to the tailor's shop. "I'll stand guard outside, alright?" The others went in immediately.

Malik eyed the shop's front. "Robes? Do I need them?" he asked.

Ryou smiled a bit. "Yes, you need them. Everyone wears them. You get used to them soon enough."

"Looks like a bunch of dresses," Malik said.

Ryou laughed. "I guess it is a little unconventional for school, isn't it?"

Malik smirked. "You say that like I'd know. I've never been to school before. Unless you count Ishizu's lessons. Come on, are we just going to stand around out here, or are we going to buy some dresses?"

"Of course."

"Oh, wait," Malik said suddenly. "How am I going to pay for this? Ishizu was the one who took care of everything back home, but I didn't bring any money. Actually, I don't even know what money wizards use!"

"Bakura," Ryou said. He was the one who had access to the shadow realm, where he had ferreted away a small horde of the stuff.

Bakura appeared at his shoulder like a wraith, a handful of gold, silver, and bronze coins rattling in his fingers. "Need me already?" he teased. "You just want me for my money, don't you, light?"

"As if you were good for anything else," Malik said, taking one of each. He thumbed the coins and looked them over critically. He bit the gold piece. "This is real gold."

"Galleons," Ryou said. "They're worth the most. Then sickles, the silver one, and then the bronze ones are knuts. Seventeen sickles to a galleon, and 29 knuts to a sickle."

"Seriously? That's just ridiculous," Malik scoffed. "What kind of conversions are those? And where am I gonna get the money anyway?" Bakura laughed.

Ryou gave him an indulgent smile. "Don't worry about paying. I may not like Bakura's methods, but at least neither of us will want for anything. Now come on, the others are waiting for us."

Malik nodded and Ryou reached for the door.

He stood stock still, Malik pausing beside him. "Ryou? What's wrong?"

The words seemed trapped in Ryou's throat. His hands began to tremble. A blond head appeared through the glass, pushing open the door with an angry expression. It was the one Ryou had turned his back on last year, the one he had rejected in favor of paving his own way in this world.

Narcissa gasped. She was the first to see him standing there, and the first to react. Draco paused, the same haughty look on his face as before. It melted into something of confusion first, before twisting into something dark and angry.

"You!" Draco hissed. His robes swirled with his sharp movements as Malfoy jabbed the air with his forefinger.

"Ryou, why is that kid so mad at you?" Malik asked in Japanese, touching Ryou's shoulder lightly.

"H-hello, Draco," he managed, his voice quivering despite his best efforts.

"Blood traitors and mudbloods everywhere," Draco muttered mutinously. "This place has gone down the drain." Bakura growled, and Draco flinched back.

"We have places to be," Narcissa reminded Draco, and he sneered. Ryou felt frozen in place as they brushed past them. Narcissa's expression was inscrutable. Ryou couldn't even breathe.

"Ryou? Ryou! Who were they? I'll make them pay, Ryou," Malik growled, and Ryou finally shook himself out of his stupor.

"No… No, that's not-"

" _I_ can make them pay," Bakura offered. He cracked his knuckles menacingly. Ryou shook his head harder. The pair receded into the crowd, vanishing from sight.

His hands were shaking and he couldn't seem to make them stop. "I forgot," he whispered. "I don't think I can do this…"

"As if they could stop you!" Bakura insisted. "I fucking dare them!"

Along the street, a witch glanced up at them. She looked at their faces for a long lingering moment before gasping with shock and realization. She fled down the street with a hand tightly on her bags.

"Ryou, what's going on?" Malik asked.

Ryou opened the door and firmly walked inside, forcing Malik to follow. Bakura growled and vanished from sight once more.

"I'll tell you tonight," Ryou said. The sick feeling from last year was already back.

Madam Malkin had already started on the others when Ryou stepped around a rack.

"Ryou, are you alright? You look pale," Hermione said.

"I'm fine" he said faintly. "I forgot… Draco… He certainly isn't happy."

Their faces all soured. So they had spoken with him too. "Forget that git," Ron said.

"Easier said than done. I have to live with him again this year," Ryou said. He shrank into his shoulders.

Malik's hand moved awkwardly an inch from Ryou's shoulder, as though trying to decide whether or not to touch him and whether it would be comfort at all. Ryou shook his head and made his way to where the tailor could drape some ropes over his head.

"I'll make it work. Somehow."

"How'd you even end up in Slytherin anyway, Ryou?" Harry said. Hermione shot him a warning glance, but Harry didn't back down. "Come on, you know what I mean. Ryou was just as brave as any of us in the Department of Magic. Slytherins are all about saving their own skins, but Ryou, I'm sorry, but you…" Harry trailed off.

Ryou shrugged. He understood perfectly.

"I lack any sense of self-preservation, you mean?" Ryou said. "I… I'm working on it… Bakura and I..."

"You just don't seem to fit there," Ron said. "They're all arrogant gits, and you're not."

"The Sorting Hat is never wrong," Hermione said. "You know that. Not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with you, Ryou," she added with a flush.

Ryou sighed. He plastered a fake smile onto his face, but Malik was clearly not convinced, and the others seemed to see through it about as well.

"It's fine, like I said. I'll make it work somehow. Draco and I may be related, but we aren't family. Not by any means. And I'm Slytherin. Home of the clever, cunning, and resourceful. If I couldn't make it work, who else could?"

Malik fidgeted in his robes. Madam Malkin fluttered nervously around him, looking a bit shaken. "Is there something wrong with Slytherin?" he asked. The edge was back in his voice.

"I said I'll be fine, Malik," Ryou insisted. "I… I have all of you guys now. I have friends. And that's all I really want." He smiled for real this time. "And I have Bakura now. They won't dare try anything, not with him around."

Madam Malkin worked quickly and a bit nervously. She seemed to want them gone as quickly possible, likely a byproduct of whatever confrontation the Gryffindors might have had with the Malfoys inside. Draco knew how to sink poisonous barbs with simple words. It wasn't a stretch to imagine he'd upset the tailor somehow.

They rejoined with the rest of the Weasleys outside once the robes were done, and together they headed for the Apothecary and Eeylops Owl Emporium. Harry and Ron seemed more excited about buying owl nuts for their birds than buying potions ingredients, until Ryou remembered they wouldn't be taking any potions this year.

Ryou looked sideways at Malik. "Your letter included potions books, right? We'll grab you some stuff too." They bought the things they would need and found Harry and Ron. The two were arguing about brands of owl nuts.

Harry settled the discussion by buying two of the largest boxes of the lot. He glanced at Ryou as he was paying, as though just remembering he was there. "Oh, Ryou, did you want something for Uraeus? Owls and snakes eat similar things, right?" Harry glanced uneasily at the large tank of mice.

Ryou smiled. "Uraeus likes bacon just fine, and he doesn't actually need food. He just likes the taste. Thank you, though."

Finally, their last stop of the day awaited them: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The joke shop awaited them further down the street.

It was an explosion of color out of the dull shop fronts of the rest of the alley. Malik grinned, and it was infectious. "Now that's what I'm talking about," he said.

"This is amazing! Your brothers did this?" Ryou said to Ron.

Ron seemed to be at a loss for words. "Whoa," was all he could say, stopped dead in his tracks.

They weren't the only ones who were drawn up short by the fantastical display. Even people who tried to their best to keep their heads down and attention to their feet seemed to be struck motionless by the riotous colors and swirling streams of magic that drew the eye.

A dizzying collection of magical wonders and knicknacks made every sort of movement and sound and drew attention to themselves in a way none of the other shops even dared.

Inside, it was so busy that the shelves were almost unreachable. "This is a magic shop!" Malik cheered, spinning around in wonder to take everything in. The pair followed Harry deeper, trying to avoid getting completely lost in the sea of people and novelty items.

It was like falling into a wonderland of potions and tricks and boxes piled as high as the ceilings.

The group pulled up short in front of a display of boxes displaying a handsome youth and his swooning lover. Daydream charms, thirty minutes long and highly realistic. Ryou studied the box with a grin. "This is amazing!"

"You know, this really is extraordinary magic," Hermione said. Even she seemed genuinely surprised at the level of quality of everything inside. Ryou was certainly surprised. He hadn't even known that the boys had been planning something like this. Ryou couldn't even believe the Weasley name on the front of the store.

"Just for that, Hermione, you can have it for free," a voice said behind them. It was one of the Weasleys. Ryou couldn't tell which. He beamed at them. Ryou glanced back at the charms.

/As if you need one of those to have a lewd daydream/ Bakura said. /I can give you one for free/

Ryou flushed bright red. Malik gave him a questioning look, and Ryou flushed even brighter red. Malik had noticed. Oh, this was so embarrassing.

/ _Stop teasing me like that_ / Ryou insisted.

Bakura laughed. He appeared, invisible and intangible, hands ghosting lightly over Ryou's skin, feather-light and chilly like the cool air of the shadows. At first his hands slid softly over Ryou's bare forearms, up to his shoulders, then slid down his torso to settle suggestively at Ryou's hips.

Ryou's face turned redder as the hands slid lower. Bakura's arms were now loosely wrapped around him, and he swayed slightly. "Mmmm, my lovely light, imagine the daydreams we could share," he hummed into Ryou's ear.

Ryou shivered, eyes closing. His mouth had parted slightly, and he couldn't help but slick his tongue quickly over his bottom lip. Bakura gently mouthed the base of his neck.

/S-stop/ Ryou breathed heavily. /N-not in public/

"Ryou, are you feeling alright?" Malik asked.

Ryou stifled a small moan as Bakura grasped him briefly between the legs and then vanished with a laugh. "I'm going to kill Bakura," he gasped. Malik blinked once or twice. Ryou could see the exact moment he'd figured it out, as he watched the smirk spread over his face.

Malik laughed at him. "Hahahaha, it's _hard_ to be you, isn't it?" he said with a wink. Ryou's face burned. It wasn't that obvious, was it? Ryou yanked his button-up off, then folded it over his arms so that it hung down over his front. Now his little problem was slightly better hidden.

/Bakura, this is all your fault/ he huffed, and the only answer he got was more laughter.

Malik grabbed his arm and pulled. "Ryou, what's this?" he said. Ryou could barely keep the shirt down. They weaved through the store toward another display where Ginny was looking.

Displays and goods and the strangest, most amazing objects caught their eyes as they moved through the store. Every turn had something new in store.

A box of candies that caused various maladies caught Bakura's eye, and Ryou had a sinking suspicion that one or two may have vanished into the depths of the shadow realm, along with packets of darkness powder and noisemakers.

The tricks and toys were designed as pranks, but Ryou could feel Bakura's mind whirling with the much more evil possibilities.

/ _As if you need all of this/_ Ryou said.

Bakura grinned at him. /But how can I resist new toys?/

Ryou rolled his eyes. Malik's arms were full of boxes, and he bounded over with a grin. "Ryou, Ryou, look at these!"

He fumbled with the load, trying to extricate something from near the bottom and bring it to the top where Ryou could see. It was a red and violet box with a flashy logo and graphics of hairbrushes on the front.

"It's called Comb-a-Chameleon, it changes your hair color! It's amazing! You have to come see-"

Ryou smiled and was led through the store, Malik parading them gleefully this way and that.

He saw Harry duck past, face looking irritated. Ryou watched as Harry approached Hermione and Ron and say something to them. They immediately turned to the window.

Ryou looked back at Malik. "Here, get anything you want," Ryou said. He dumped a pile of gold into Malik's hand, which was nearly dropped on the ground as he fumbled for a better hold.

"Wait, where are you going?" Malik asked.

"I'll be right back, promise," Ryou said. He ducked and weaved until he was beside the trio.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

They all jumped in surprise. "Ryou!" Hermione said. "We, ah, well-"

"It's Draco. Looks like he's given his mum the slip. Seems a bit suspicious."

Ryou turned his head and saw his cousin walking out the door of the shop. That familiar pang rippled through him again. He couldn't help but bite his lip.

* * *

 **Hey, just wanted to say thanks so much for the reviews. I read all of them, even if I don't have time to reply, and they really motivate me to find the time to push more chapters out. I feel bad that I've been so busy with other things, but that's life and I just gotta work around it! Next chapter hopefully won't take so long. So yeah, thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter may answer a few questions.**

* * *

"We're going after him," Harry said. He was already pulling out a length of fabric that rippled and shimmered. His hands seemed to move in and out of sight as it passed over them.

"How?" Ryou said. "Won't he see you?"

"We have a way of going around unseen. It isn't important right now," Hermione said, sounding distracted. "Unfortunately, we can't bring you along. It'll barely fit us three…"

The three were already moving towards the door and after Draco. "Sorry, Ryou," Harry said. "Don't tell Mrs. Weasley where we went." They vanished at this, quite literally. Still inside the shop, they swept the fabric over their shoulders, and they disappeared from sight.

"What?" Ryou drew up short. "They… vanished?" The door opened by itself and then swung shut. As quickly as that, they were gone.

/No. They're still there/ Bakura muttered. /But… they're invisible somehow… I presume they're following your cousin. Am I wrong to assume you wish to follow as well?/

Ryou hesitated. "We shouldn't…" he muttered, but it was suspicious. Draco didn't, wouldn't shop alone. Not unless he was hiding something that he didn't want others to know about.

/We're losing him/ Bakura reminded him.

"Ugh," Ryou groaned. "Just take over and do it already."

In the back of his mind, Bakura laughed, long and loud. "Well, then, Hikari, if that's what you really want."

There was a strange tugging sensation on his mind, followed by a curious pull that ripped him right out of his own body and into his soul room. All sensation and sight was left to him, the world still open to him, but control of his body was gone. His limbs began to move by themselves.

It was a feeling like swimming, the air thick like viscous fluid and numbed to him slightly. It wasn't perfectly the same, but close enough.

Like that, he began to move effortlessly, weaving through people without them noticing. Draco came back into sight in the distance.

/You left Malik alone back there/ Bakura commented.

Ryou winced. / _I left him with Ginny. He should be fine… right? I mean, I left him some money. Maybe he won't notic_ e/

Bakura chuckled low. /Oh, I'm sure he's already noticed./

/ _Curses_ / Ryou muttered. / _Let's try to make this fast and get back before anyone sees us_ /

He nodded.

Bakura worked his way through Diagon Alley, keeping to the darker sides streets. He wore the shadows like a cloak, working them through his fingers with gentle motions. They worked to misdirect, to call attention away from Bakura himself as he moved onward toward Draco. The darkness didn't seem all too out of place beside the bleak facades of buildings.

The streets seemed to grow dimmer and more desolate as they walked. It had always been a bit of a gloomy, slightly overcast day, but it grew steadily darker and darker around them. It was almost like they had left Diagon Alley behind.

/What's that?/

"Where?" Ryou asked, looking around. His eyes focused on a flicker of disembodied ankles and shoes moving across the filthy ground.

/See?/

They looked like three sets of shoes belonging to teenagers. It was them. But how…?

Bakura pressed his back against the sunless wall for a brief moment, letting the shadows flood over his skin like a cloak. Draco turned his head, looking back up the way he'd come.

Ryou could hardly breathe. A second later and they'd have been seen. Draco narrowed his eyes, looking closer, then turned around once more. He swaggered deeper into the depths of the alleyways.

"Watching his back, very paranoid," Bakura mused with a grin. "Your cousin is being more suspicious than last year."

/ _Is he up to something you think?_ /

Bakura paused in place, staring indignantly at the wall. /Did you really just ask that? Your slimy little cousin is always up to something or another. Sneaky little twit/

Ryou shrugged. / _Fair enough_ /

Soon enough, Draco vanished inside of a small store. There was a creaky old sign hanging above the establishment, made from old, weathered wood and rusted metal letters. It read Borgin and Burkes.

Through the window, Draco's head was just visible around a cabinet. His lips moved, but there was no chance of making out what he was saying through the distorted glass.

/ _Do you think Uraeus could get in there and find out what he's saying?_ /

/Ask him/ Bakura said.

Ryou made a face. He was partially in control suddenly. The feeling was strange. He dug around inside of his sleeve until he had drawn Uraeus out. The snake stirred sleepily.

"I wassss napping," he said irritably.

"Can you get in there and listen to what they're saying?" Ryou asked.

The snake sighed. "Fine, I ssssupossse I could. I will return ssssoon."

"Thank you," Ryou said, dropping him gently onto the ground. Uraeus slipped his was through a small gap by the door and vanished into the gloom.

The shadows remained around them as they watched, still helping to cloak them from sight. Bakura eased closer to the store. It was still impossible to make anything out, but there was a definite flicker of green weaving across the floor to where one could.

Bakura looked over the place with greedy eyes. He thoughtlessly computed risk and value for each item in turn as quickly as he noticed each one, even from this distance. It was loud and distracting.

This was how Bakura saw the world. He didn't evaluate things necessarily by their material worth, but rather, in their potential usefulness and how difficult it was to take them. The more the challenge, the more appealing.

/ _Bakura, focus, where is Uraeus?_ / Ryou urged, and Bakura blinked and refocused somewhat. His eyes continued to stray back to a creepy-looking hand in the corner that reeked of strange, foreign magic.

/There/ Bakura pointed to a shadowed alcove under a display. There was a faint iridescent glitter.

The man inside looked uneasy, like cornered prey.

They were speaking, that much was clear, but otherwise it was impossible to decipher what was going on. Flesh colored strings wound from nothingness and stretched toward the door. Ryou looked back from where they had seemed to come from, and spotted the edges of the same trainers he'd seen earlier.

Could that be them?

He looked back inside of the room. His cousin and the shopkeeper had shifted, so a cabinet now blocked most of what was happening inside. Malfoy finished up inside quickly enough, and he left the man inside bowing and scraping like he was a servant to the Malfoys.

With Draco out of sight once more, the ears wound up. Ryou followed the ends of them, until he found a mass of invisible solid that protested when he bumped into it.

"Wha-? What was that?" Ron whispered a bit too loudly. Ryou waved his hands around his head, and the shadows dispersed around him. The darkness drew back a bit, and he came more easily into sight.

"Ryou? How did you do that?" Hermione asked.

Bakura appeared at Ryou's shoulder, and Ryou shrugged. Bakura was smug enough already. "I guess it's obvious at this point," Ryou said, looking at his darker half. "But what was that about?"

"He wanted to repair ssssssomething," Uraeus reported. Ryou grinned and stooped to pick the snake up.

"Did you hear anything interesting?" Ryou asked.

It was Harry who spoke first. "Dunno. But he wanted something mended, something reserved. Uraeus, you were in there, right? Did you see what he pointed at when he said 'that one'?"

Uraeus blinked. "I don't recall. It mussssn't have been that important though."

Hermione suddenly came into sight, appearing out from underneath the invisibility cloak. "What are you-?" Ron started, but fell silent as she quickly checked her appearance in the glass and made for the shop.

She spoke with the shopkeeper, and Ryou eased a bit closer to the glass to watch. She was moving awkwardly through the room, almost stumbling over a table. They couldn't hear what she was saying, but it was clear enough from the body language: Borgin was quite suspicious of her, and she wasn't doing much to convince him otherwise.

Borgin looked angrier and angrier as Hermione continued to press him inside the shop, until he finally shouted so loudly that it was audible even outside. "Out, get out!"

Hermione fled from the shop. The door slammed closed on her heels. Bakura appeared again, this time closer to her. Harry and Ron came into view once more, Harry stowing the cloak.

"Your acting was abysmal," Bakura commented. "Even Ryou would have done better."

"Well then, next time, Ryou can show us all how it's done," Hermione said sharply.

Ryou put his hands up innocently. "I didn't say it."

Ron shrugged. "He's got a point though, Hermione, and that's saying something. You know how bad a liar Ryou is."

It seemed to strike a nerve, because Ron and Hermione began to argue. The two only stopped once they'd returned to the joke shop.

Ryou ducked away and tracked down Malik before anyone else could notice that he'd been away. Malik looked furious. "Where were you? I looked everywhere."

"Did… did you check in the back?" Ryou said innocently.

Malik narrowed his eyes. "Bakura, I know you had something to do with this. Why did you ditch me like that? I thought we were going to be shopping together. And then you vanished, and I thought something had happened." He shoved Ryou's shoulder a little harder than what was perfectly friendly. "You really had me worried."

"I'm sorry," Ryou said earnestly. "I really am. But Malik, you know we can't be together all year. We might be in separate houses anyway. I told you, you'll be sorted when you get there and-"

"I know, I know," Malik sighed. He threw his arm over Ryou's shoulder and they walked back to where the other Weasleys were standing. "But still, I was worried." He stepped away, shoulders sagging, and was curiously silent the rest of the way back.

* * *

Ryou wanted to quietly sulk the rest of the summer. Malik certainly did for the next day or two, before he bounced back and acted like nothing had ever happened.

And it seemed like Harry was allowed to be upset about the matter for a while too. But Hermione and Ron could only patiently tolerate Harry's need to talk about what has happened for so long. He tried to drag Ryou into these conversations, but they only made Ryou feel worse.

Lucius had ended up in prison. It had been in one of the newspapers, and Ryou had known for a while. But seeing Draco's bitterness had been a rude awakening, and now Ryou couldn't stop picturing his uncle being led away in shackles. What had it been like, Ryou wondered, to have the Ministry raid your house and search it top to bottom for traces of illegal dark magic? What would they find?

His black mood settled dark and heavy on his shoulders. Draco had every right to be angry. It was partially his fault. But Lucius could have also not used dark magic and fought for Voldemort at the same time, so maybe it was less Ryou's fault than he liked to think.

/It's what I've been saying/ Bakura said over the mindlink.

"I still feel bad," Ryou admitted. "I know I shouldn't, but…"

"You're too empathetic," Malik said. "Not that I don't appreciate it sometimes, but you make it too hard on yourself. Seriously, Ryou. It's okay to be mean sometimes. Especially when people deserve it, like that snotty little P-O-S you call a cousin."

Ryou sighed deeply. "Maybe you're right…"

"Of course I'm right. You're going to give yourself an ulcer if you keep thinking about these things so late at night." Ryou snorted. He heard distant laughter. "Goodnight, Ryou," Malik called. The light flicked off.

Ryou buried his head deeper into the covers. "Goodnight."

It took a while to finally fall asleep. It made Ryou feel surprisingly restless to be alone.

Bakura was wandering the area again. His fingers were itching to steal something, and the stickiness wasn't something that picking a few pockets or shoplifting a box or two of merchandise would fix.

Ryou was just glad that he'd managed to talk Bakura down from robbing Gringotts again. All that increased security Bill had mentioned had been on Bakura's mind for days.

Fortunately, Bakura didn't seem inclined to share his plans for the night. Ryou wasn't so sure he wanted to know. A distant laugh reverberated over the link. It was the last thing he heard.

Three hours later, Ryou sat up with a hoarse cry, a hand closing over his lips almost as soon as it began. "Fucking hell!" Bakura whispered. "This is getting worse!"

Ryou sobbed into the hand, using it to muffle the shuddering, shaking noises that came from somewhere deep in his chest. His whole body was shaking again.

Malik stirred, and his eyes opened. Not Malik. Marik. The change was obvious as night and day, even in the gloom of the half-dark room. A cold smile spread across his face. "My, my, thief, what have you done now?"

"Silence," Bakura commanded, and Ryou curled in close.

"B-Bakura, it was-" Ryou managed to force out.

Bakura hushed him. "Shhh, it's fine. I know. You're safe now. He can only get you in dreams."

"Every time I close my eyes now," Ryou whispered, "I'm scared I'll see it again."

"Shhh. Hikari. Hikari no tenshi. Banish the dark thoughts from your mind before they pollute it." Bakura's fingers raked down his skull, just hard enough to be on the edge of painful. It was a distraction, and it helped.

"The smell has returned," Marik commented. He sniffed at the air. "It's stronger this time."

"W-What smell?" Ryou asked. His breath caught.

Bakura pressed his nose to Ryou's hair and inhaled deeply. He stilled.

"What smell?" Ryou insisted.

Marik's grin was cat-like. Hungry and playful. He narrowed his gaze at Ryou. "The thief doesn't want to admit. It's coming from you, love."

"You told me you wouldn't keep things secret anymore," Ryou said, shooting Bakura a dark look.

Bakura turned his nose away. "There have been more pressing issues."

"You know what it is, don't you?" Marik asked. He rose from the bed and prowled closer to them, sidestepping the cramped furniture. He stopped at the edge of the bed. Bakura glared.

"Be quiet. It isn't important. Go let your host sleep or something, psycho."

"But I want to know," Marik said. "So tell me, what is it?"

"Marik, is Malik still asleep?" Ryou asked. He rubbed his eyes. Sleep seemed impossibly far away from him now, but if Marik was in control right now...

Marik curled his lips at Ryou. "Why, yes," he purred. "Does kitten wish to speak with Hikari-mine?"

"Yes… No, we can talk about this in the morning," Ryou said. His head ached, and a chill was settling into his bones. He buried his face in Bakura's chest, where it was warm. Somehow he had ended up perched in his darker half's lap.

Fingers prodded the back of his neck, only to be swatted away. "Kitten, tell Marik."

"Leave my light alone," Bakura growled.

A dangerous growl slipped from Marik's lips. Ryou flinched. He peeked out, and there was a feral snarl on Marik's face. "I demand to know! Tell me now, before I wring your light's pretty neck!

"Fight me," Bakura growled back. "Hikari will speak in the morning."

Marik cracked his knuckles ominously. The air plunged in temperature and the darkness crowded closer.

"Enough!" Ryou hissed. "Both of you go to sleep! I'm exhausted."

Marik blinked, a bit surprised by the outburst. The dark smile returned as though it had never slipped away. "Kitten sharpening his little needle claws. You have a ways to go yet."

"Sleep," Ryou said. His body felt like ice and was wracked by tremors, but he kept his tone almost perfectly level.

Marik fell back into the bed with a laugh. "Marik is going to tell on all of you when Hikari-mine awakens."

"Do it," Bakura shot back. His chest rumbled softly with the stirrings of a song. Ryou closed his eyes and let it settle into his soul. His chest hitched. Bakura pressed his lips to Ryou's hair, his fingers petting Ryou's head again. Ryou started to hum the song back until he could no longer carry the tune. Bakura smiled against his scalp.

When morning came too quickly, he was still wrapped in Bakura's arms. He opened his eyes to find Bakura studying his face. He was frowning again. The divot between his eyebrows seemed more pronounced than usual, now, as well. "Malik needs to know," Ryou said.

Bakura shrugged. "If he must." The arms fell away, and it was cold without them.

Ryou kicked his legs out from under the covers. He dressed robotically, every movement painfully slow and jerky. His side was healed finally, but the scar still traced down the length of his torso in an ugly white line. At least it didn't hurt anymore.

It felt like forever before Malik woke up, rubbing his eyes with a groan. "Urgh, my head is killing me. Did something happen last night?"

"Marik must have forgotten to tell him," Bakura said.

"Tell me what?" Malik said. His hair stuck up in the back like a porcupine, the way that Marik's did. Ryou brushed his own hair with a solemn look.

He didn't want to say, but this had gone on for too long. "Malik… I've been having nightmares. For a while, really. I didn't really know why, but now…"

Malik perked up, frowing. "What are you talking about?"

Ryou shivered. "The smell of darkness. It's him. You know, from Egypt. He's back."

Malik was silent for a moment as he thought, but then he went still. His violet eyes were wide and horrified. "No, you can't be serious. Yugi got rid of him."

"I am serious. During last year, I started having these horrible dreams where I see his face, and I'm helpless. I thought Bakura had gotten rid of them, but-"

"I did get rid of them!" Bakura roared. "I've been trying to hold him back. But if my attention slips for even a moment, it would seem that he has found ways of getting inside Ryou's head anyway."

Malik wrung his fingers through his hands. "This is really worrying. We should tell Ishizu. Zorc shouldn't be out and about. But if Bakura was able to get out of the tomb, then it's clear that so was he."

"How much power does he have?" Ryou asked.

Malik shook his head with a shrug. "Hard to say. If it's just dreams and a bit of lingering darkness, well.. He must be limited. Especially if the ring is the only item out of the tablet. It's a good thing the other items are still sealed away. Still… You should have told me about this sooner."

"I know," Ryou said. His heart was heavy and cold in his chest, like the weight of the shadows. He shook his head. "I just didn't want to bother you with this. But it's not getting any better."

"No, it will only get worse," Malik confirmed.

Bakura's arms encircled Ryou with a possessive squeeze. "He won't take what's mine."

Ryou's heavy heart lightened, if only slightly. "We just need to send him back, right? Is there anything we can do to help your sister?"

Malik shook his head. "I'll ask, but I don't know for sure. Honestly…" He trailed off, clenching his hand into a fist. "I'm not sure how much good any of us can do. Not if he's able to get out somehow. He may be limited right now, but we don't have the Pharaoh to help us this time."

"We can stop him! Bakura can," Ryou said, smiling up at Bakura. "You're as strong as the Pharaoh anyway, right?"

Bakura kissed Ryou's forehead. "Far and beyond his power, my light. I have all of my memories of the last five thousand years practicing the shadows. You will not be harmed."

Ryou smiled. "I'm glad. I don't want to bring Yugi into this again. He deserves a break."

"And you don't?" Bakura asked.

Ryou sighed. "That's not important. Not now." Bakura hummed in dissatisfaction. Ryou wriggled free and started to dig through his suitcase. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast."

There was plenty of time for research later.

* * *

At long last, summer ended, and it was time to go to Hogwarts. Ryou had talked Malik's ear off with his stories about what awaited him there. From the look on his face, he was starting to get the impression that Malik didn't believe him.

"No, it's not that I don't believe you," Malik said. "This is just, well, an awful lot to take in. You have to realize how crazy all of this sounds, right?"

Ryou smiled. "But Malik, you can use literal darkness to summon creatures from a void-like realm that is basically hell. How is it any more ridiculous to have a brick wall that you can walk through?"

Malik shook his head. "It's just not natural," he scoffed. Bakura laughed, and Malik's cool facade broke. He started to laugh every bit as loud.

Ryou elbowed him. "Come on, Malik, be serious. We're leaving in an hour."

"Oh fine. I'm already packed up, anyway. Got all my stuff here," he added, thumping the side of a new trunk they'd picked up while shopping.

Ryou waved his wand at both of their trunks, and they began to bob in the air behind him. "Great. I promise, you'll love it."

They loaded up into cars and headed to London. They chatted until, at last, they drew up to King's Cross Station. Malik hesitated at the brick wall. Ron, Harry, Hermione, and the others had already gone through.

"It's fine," Ryou said with an encouraging smile. "Nothing to it. I was worried my first time too, if it makes you feel better."

"Pfft," Malik scoffed. "I'm not scared." He straightened his shoulders. People around them were staring. Ryou had to admit, the pair of them were attracting a lot of attention. Malik took a deep breath.

After a long moment, Malik pushed his cart through the brick wall. Ryou followed behind with a smile. He pushed his cart until he'd drawn up beside Malik once more. It wasn't hard. Malik was frozen in place beside the others, struck still by the sights that greeted them.

"Whoa," Malik muttered.

Ryou patted his shoulder. "Really takes your breath away, doesn't it?"

The sea of people rushing this way and that, the vibrant colors of luggage and exotic pets in cages, it was amazing. There were parents kissing children and wishing them the best, loved ones reminding others to owl every now and again. Friends reunited. Students excited to leave for school. A glorious, massive train billowing pillars of smoke into the sky.

There was a rush from the sheer volume of people. You'd have to be blind and deaf to miss it, and even then, Ryou was sure that the energy could still be felt regardless. Eyes lingered on them as they passed.

"Ever get the feeling you're being watched?" Malik said.

Ryou grimaced. "You noticed it too? It's a little odd."

People would pass them by, then bow their heads and whisper to those close by. It wasn't obvious who exactly they were staring at. They couldn't seem to decide whether they wanted to stare at Harry or Ryou, and it was like they weren't entirely sure what to make of Malik either.

"Why?" Malik asked.

"Must have been the papers…" Ryou said. He looked around. Harry and the others had disappeared. "Come on, we need to hurry. Don't want to miss the train."

"Perish the thought," Marik said.

Ryou glanced around once. The other Weasleys should have been around somewhere. It didn't feel right not to thank them for letting them stay for the summer. The whistle blew loudly. There wasn't any time. The pair hurried and boarded the train, making it in the nick of time.

The two were breathless as they lugged their things behind them. Ryou managed a half a smile. "Well, that was exciting."

Marik grinned back. The smile fell away. Faces were pressed against the glass of various compartments. Some people stood stock still in the corridors. It was like the conversations had fallen to a harsh, grating halt the moment the two of them had boarded.

"Ignore them," Ryou said. "They stared a bit last year too. No one will do anything, really." At least, Ryou hoped so. He beckoned Malik after him. They needed to find somewhere to sit.

He bumped into Ginny as she passed, and she smiled at him. "'Scuse me," she said. She pointed a thumb back the way she'd just come. "Harry's that way, if you're looking for him."

"Thanks," Ryou said.

Malik watched her go. "She isn't sitting with you?" he asked. "Or with Harry?"

"She has a boyfriend, I think. She must want to sit with him." She vanished into the next section of the train. "Harry's this way, though." He gestured in the direction Ginny had pointed. They started to work their way back.

Malik grinned impishly. "You're going to sit with your boyfriend, aren't you?" he teased.

Ryou swatted at him. "Bakura doesn't like that word, and neither do I."

"Then what do you call each other?" Malik asked. He looked genuinely curious.

Bakura appeared in the open space beside Ryou. Several onlookers twitched back in shock. Bakura roared with laughter as he wrapped an arm over Ryou's shoulder. "I prefer lover. Paramour. My lovely stolen treasure."

"Manipulative, thieving bastard," Malik laughed back. "Ryou, you let him call you all that crap? You've got to know he's messing with you or something."

Ryou blushed. "I kind of like it, actually." It left a fluttery, nervous feeling in his chest when Bakura said those words. No one ever called him such things before.

Plus, it was better than 'hikari' or 'yadonushi', which always seemed edged in a hint of condescension. Maybe Bakura didn't mean it anymore, but the sentiment had been there for too long for it too vanish so quickly in Ryou's eyes.

"You like it when I say your name," Bakura said. He leaned close. "Ryou."

Ryou flushed, almost unable to breathe. "Y-yes…"

Malik yanked Bakura's hair, pulling him back. He snarled back like a feral animal. Malik shot him a 'just, please' sort of look. "Come on, I deal with Marik. You think that scares me? Let's find a compartment. I'm sick of being a show for this audience."

Ryou agreed quickly. Bakura vanished again, but he was still close by, watching everything. They searched for a place to sit, checking compartment after compartment. But with each new failure, they were forced to admit that everything was already full. Finally, they found Harry inside of a compartment with a few familiar faces.

"Would you mind if we sat here? I'm not sure where else to go," Ryou admitted.

"Come on in," Harry said, beckoning them in. Ryou smiled gratefully. A wave of his wand, and his luggage found itself on the rack above their heads. He did the same for Malik's and it slid into place beside his.

"Who's with you?" Neville asked, peering around the edge of the door.

Malik stepped into sight. He gave a half wave and a confident grin. "Hello, I'm Malik Ishtar. Nice to meet you."

Neville's jaw dropped open. "You- you're the one, you two are-" he started to babble.

"My father always said that the government was hiding experimental magic," Luna said. She was wearing bizarre glasses and had her magazine turned upside down. She looked Malik up and down and smiled at Ryou. "The experiments were painful, right? Well, it would be hard to feel happy without a little sadness to balance it out."

Malik went very still. Ryou put a hand on his arm. "She doesn't know what she's talking about," he whispered. There was no way she knew the truth. She was usually a crayon short of a full box, anyway. But there was still an uncomfortable feeling in Ryou's gut that she knew too much.

Malik beamed at them, like nothing had happened. "Well, that was different."

"Luna Lovegood," she said, sticking out a hand over her magazine. Malik shook it and turned to Neville, who held his toad in trembling fingers. He fumbled to hold the amphibian in one hand and stuck the other out.

"Longbottom, Neville Longbottom," he said. Malik shook that hand too, and then wiped his own hand off on his pants with an apologetic look.

"Right, well, nice to meet you all," Malik said. "Ryou told me you two were there when your government went to shit and back thanks to a certain egomaniac without a nose. Although you're a bit… different than I expected."

Luna smiled. Neville looked uncomfortable. He would open his mouth and then shut it again. Whatever he wanted to say, he was having issues getting it out.

"Are you alright?" Ryou asked gently.

"Why didn't you tell us about your magic sooner?" he asked finally. He was a bit firmer than Ryou expected, and it took him aback.

Ryou blinked. "I… well, I don't like to make a big deal about it. I didn't really want anyone to know, actually. I figured none of you would want to talk to me again." It was most of the story. The important part, anyway, and the only part Ryou cared to tell them.

"You risked your life for us," Luna said simply. "I don't care what it is. I trust you to have it."

"And me?" Malik asked, a bit more rudely than he must have intended.

Luna looked at him. Her glasses made her eyes appear to be a kaleidoscope of strange colors. "You're Ryou's friend, right?" She smiled. "Then it must be alright, too."

"Even if it gets people hurt?" he asked. They were edging into something dangerous.

"Do you intend to hurt people?" she asked levelly.

"Well, no, but-"

"My point stands, then, doesn't it? Ryou told us that it's like fire. Standing too close to the flames will get you burned. But if we stay just far enough away, won't we be warm?" She hummed happily and returned to her magazine without waiting for a response.

Malik blinked at her, speechless. Harry shrugged. Ryou took a seat and tugged Malik onto the bench beside him. He seemed a bit dumbstruck by her, or at least, not entirely sure what to make of her oddness.

Eventually, Hermione and Ron appeared. They'd been with the prefects in another carriage. Now, they returned with news that Malfoy hadn't been there. He chose to sit with his friends instead of bullying first years or whatever he liked to do on the train.

Ryou glanced down at his knees. Something was up with Draco, but he couldn't explain what.

A breathless third-year girl opened the door to their compartment before Ryou could fall into thought. "I'm supposed to deliver these," she said. She blushed as she looked at the collection of people inside, quickly leaving them with four scrolls of parchment. A violet ribbon on each sealed them shut, and they were addressed to four of them.

Harry, Neville, Ryou, and Malik.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

Ryou pulled his open, reading it quickly. It was an invitation to lunch in Compartment C, signed by the professor Harry had met over the summer.

"Why does he want us?" Neville asked, looking between each of the invited students.

"No idea," Harry said. Ryou rolled the parchment back up and exchanged a look with Malik. He seemed about as sure of this as Ryou.

People stared even more as they made their way to Slughorn's compartment. It was starting to make Ryou's skin crawl.

"I hope it isn't like this all year," he muttered.

Just inside of the compartment, Ryou was surprised to note just how many others had been invited. However, it wasn't entirely surprising that Harry was the one he was the most eager to see.

"Harry, Harry," he bellowed, springing to his feet in a move that seemed surprisingly spry given his girth. He looked just as Harry had described: large, balding, and rather corpulent, dressed in sharp tweeds. "Good to see you. And you must be Mr. Longbottom!" he added, turning to the others as they stepped in one by one.

Neville looked terrified. Ryou waited until he'd moved out of the way to come in himself, Malik following behind.

"And, would you look at that! I've heard whispers in my day of some strange things, but my, my, Mr. Bakura, Mr. Ishtar. It is beyond my wildest dreams that I'd ever get to meet people like you."

The gleam in his eye was strange. Ryou had only seen something like it once before. It was the look of someone whose collection was acquiring some rare, valuable new find.

The four of them shuffled into seats as introductions were quickly made. To Ryou's surprise, Ginny sat across from him, grimacing behind Slughorn's back. Ryou puzzled over this, trying to figure out what all of them could have had in common which would have gotten them invited to lunch.

His question was answered quickly by Slughorn himself, who was working his way around the room dropping names of important wizards he had met in his lifetime. It didn't take long to figure it out. Everyone was somehow connected to someone who was powerful or famous, save for Ginny.

Even Harry got the star treatment, maybe especially Harry. Slughorn was very obviously the most excited to speak with 'the boy who lived'. Finally, he grinned broadly at Ryou and Malik.

"And you two," he said, with great relish. "I've read about you in the papers. Ancient, forgotten magic, they're calling it. Tell me, how do two boys your age come across something like this?"

"Strange circumstances and lingering curses," Ryou said in a clipped tone. He touched the ring around his neck. "It's quite a long story, I don't think we have quite the time for it to be any justice."

Malik looked a little pale. He smiled faintly at Ryou in relief.

"Well," Slughorn said, shifting in his seat to find a more comfortable way to arrange his large stomach. "If it's a lengthy tale, it may be best to save it for a later date. But I have to say, I'm quite curious about it. The papers rarely do anyone justice, and I can't say I'm impressed just yet. Any way we could at least get a little… demonstration? Just for curiosity's sake, of course."

He smiled. Ryou shrank into his shirt's collar, panicking slightly. He glanced at Malik out of the corner of his eye, trying to say without words.

/You can't do it without me, can you?/ Bakura teased.

/I'm a little nervous to try/ Ryou admitted. It had worked in the battle against Voldemort, but he'd also had the help of the glass spheres of shadows.

Malik leaned forward with a taut grin. "You want a demonstration?" he asked. He moved to his feet with the easy languor of a cat. "I think I can do that. But remember you asked for it."

His hands went out, grasping at the shadows in the corners of the room. They coiled towards him, sliding over the floors, the walls, over the table and food, weaving closer like black paper serpents. They collapsed together around him like waves.

He clicked his fingers, and curls of the darkness rose up off the floor. They tightened and grew quickly more and more dense. Malik reached into his back pocket and pulled out a single card from his deck. It was Revival Jam.

Malik turned it over, revealing its face to those watching. They were speechless as the darkness gathered into a shape that hovered in the air before him, several inches above the table. Pale blue and white washed over it, and ghoulish features came into view.

"My Revival Jam can do more than sit there and look pretty," Malik said with a grin. "One of you, try and attack it. I dare you." He glanced through the cabin, narrowing his eyes at Zambini.

Zambini had been glaring at Ryou for most of the lunch. Ryou had tried to ignore it. It seemed Malik had noticed it too.

"How about you?" he said, pointing at Zambini. "Attack it. Let's see. Can you destroy it?"

Zambini made a face, but he stood up, rising to the bait. "Whatever. I'll destroy the thing." He rolled his sleeves up past his elbows and held out his wand. He waved it, muttering a curse under his breath, sending a jet of light directly toward Revival Jam. It hit it dead on.

Revival Jam exploded in a small burst, spilling onto the table like so much white gelatin. The pieces quivered, then slid together, first slowly then quickly. It reformed anew and began to float once more.

"You can't take out Revival Jam. Kill him, and he'll return just as he was before," Malik said. He waved his hand, banishing the darkness away. Revival Jam disappeared. He drew another card, and the shadows reformed into the new shape.

It was one which Ryou didn't remember well, but was quite horrific to look at. Several people scrambled backward in terror as it rose out of the floor. Malik cackled, a slight edge appearing in his eyes. "This one, perhaps don't attack," he said.

The fiendish Helpoemer, its eyeless face, sharp teeth, and ragged claws, all served to make it an intimidating foe indeed. Ryou smiled in spite of himself. In a duel, killing it activated the effect, which allowed the player to dispose of one card in the opponent's hand each turn.

What would it do in a real fight, Ryou wondered? Only the Ancient Egyptians who used it, or Malik, would know.

Malik banished it once more to a nervous smattering of applause, led by a much more exuberant Slughorn.

"My, my. That was impressive. What were those creatures?" he asked.

"Beings from a realm of purest darkness. Best not to meddle with them if you're afraid of losing your soul," Malik said. "It's certainly different than your sort of magic, I'll say."

The others, now that Helpoemer was gone, seemed a bit more impressed by show. Ryou smiled to himself as he sat back. It was enough for him to see Malik basking in the attention. This was something good for him.

Slughorn eventually wound around to his point of inviting all of them there, after droning on with endless stories about the famous people he had brought under his wing. All of those wizards were members of his Slug Club at Hogwarts, and Ryou finally fully understood.

They were to be additions to his collection, which he kept and groomed and likely pruned, all of this with the goal of surrounding himself with people who were in the know, in command, and in high enough places to give him a little hand when he needed it.

Ryou frowned to himself. Ginny and Harry both looked like sour grapes at the idea of joining. Ryou had to agree. This was altogether a bit pointless.

/You don't want to be a part of a group called the Slug Club?/ Bakura asked scathingly, grinning from ear to ear. /Whyever not, light?/

Ryou rolled his eyes. At least Malik looked a little more comfortable with himself now that the ice was broken. The others, at the very least, were suitably impressed by what they'd seen. Malik wasn't as on edge now, and that was the important thing.

It wasn't over until it was dark. As the five of them worked their way through the cluttered collection of people and crowded compartments, Harry suddenly stopped. "I'll see you guys later," he said. The shimmery cloak hid him from sight, just as suddenly as it had in Diagon Alley. Someone was bumped out of the way, but other than that, there was no trace of where Harry had gone.

Ryou blinked at the open space where he had vanished. Malik just grinned. "Wow, I need to get one of those."

Ginny just laughed. Bakura chuckled as well. Both Ginny and Neville flinched backward in shock, whirling to see where the sudden sound had come from. "Mm, I want that one," Bakura said.

Ginny's expression darkened. "Don't you dare. That's Harry's; it was his dad's. If it goes missing, I swear I'll-"

Bakura tutted her. "Threatening me doesn't scare me, no matter how good your hexes may be."

Her eyes narrowed. They flickered between Bakura and Ryou. "I don't like you," she said simply.

Bakura smiled. "Don't worry, I know."

"Ryou deserves better than you," she added.

Bakura's bland smile never wavered for an instant. "Yes he does. And he's still deigned to choose me. How fortunate for me that I've stolen his heart away like pilfered treasure."

Ryou swatted his shoulder. "I'm not a prize, you stupid darkness. And don't tease my friends."

Bakura swiftly kissed Ryou's head. "Of course." They'd arrived at the compartment once more. Bakura followed them inside, to the surprise of Ron and Hermione, who were waiting inside.

"Bakura? Why are you here?" Hermione asked.

"Miss me?" he shot back. He flopped into a corner seat and dragged Ryou onto his lap. Ginny's expression darkened further. She sat at the furthest end of the compartment, as far away from Bakura as she could get. The others filed in and took seats: Neville between Ginny and Luna, Malik between Hermione and Ryou.

"Where's Harry?" Ron asked.

Ryou shrugged. "We lost track of him. He should be back." He glanced around the compartment. Everyone else was already in their robes. He beckoned to Malik. "Come on, we should change before we get back."

Malik nodded.

When they finally reached Hogsmeade station, Harry still hadn't returned. "Should we wait for him?" Hermione fretted.

"Maybe he met up with someone else," Ron said. He scratched his head. He looked worried, too.

Ginny stood up. "We can't wait for him forever. We'll never get a carriage if we don't get going." The others had to admit that she was right, no matter how little they wanted to admit it. They all left the carriage. Still, it was hard to miss how everyone moved a bit slower than normal. It was like they were waiting for Harry to catch up with them.

He did not. They made it to the carriage area without seeing hide nor hair of him. The first years were waiting by the boats, looking as terrified as the group last year. Ryou pointed them out to Malik.

"You're supposed to ride in those," he said.

Malik laughed. "Ha, good one, Ryou."

Ryou grinned. "No, I'm not joking. That's how the first years get to the castle. It's your first year here. I did it last year, now it's your turn."

Malik's easy grin fell away. "You're kidding."

"Nope," he said with a shake of his head.

Ron and Hermione grinned. "Come on, mate, it's tradition," Ron said. "Just don't fall in. The giant squid will get you."

"Now I know you're messing with me," Malik grumbled, looking a bit cross. Everyone shook their head.

"Sorry, Malik. This time, we're serious," Ryou said.

"Come on, I don't-" He hesitated, looking back at the boats, then on toward the carriages in the distance. "You're coming, too, right?"

"I'll be in the carriage with the others," Ryou said. He paused. "You're not nervous to be alone, are you?"

Malik shook his head sharply. "Of course not, don't be ridiculous."

"This is how it's always done. You'll be alright, Malik. Go have fun." Malik gave him a pleading look. "I promise, it is fun."

Finally, Malik let out a regretful sigh. "Fine, I'll do it. Can't be that giant of a squid," he muttered. He tromped off to join the gaggle of first years. He dwarfed all of them, looking rather like a bronzed and blonde giant compared to the eleven-year-olds. Ryou smiled in spite of himself.

"Why was he so scared?" Hermione asked.

Ron scoffed. "Come on, he's from Egypt, right? Probably just uneasy around so much water. The desert areas are complete wastelands."

He wasn't completely wrong. There was nothing but sand as far as the eye could see in much of the land. But the Nile bisecting the country was large, and Malik certainly had no problems with large bodies of water. In fact, he was quite fond of boats.

"Yeah," Ryou said. "Something like that."

He patted the nose of the skeletal horse that would pull their carriage. It was only a half an hour. Malik would be alright for that long.

* * *

 **As always, thanks for the reviews! And ZDrive, I hope this one flowed a little bit better. I like the old style more too :I**

 **And hey, I love it when you all make predictions. I spent the last week plotting out like 85% of this story so I'm actually really curious to see what you readers make of my little bits of foreshadowing! So yeah. Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry bout the wait, everyone. My computer is on the fritz and my course load this semester is just ridiculous.**

 **Fun fact: the document containing my notes has surpassed 10,000 words. I've heard some veeerrry interesting ideas, but no one has guessed the truth as of yet. Honestly, some of you may be upset with me when you see it :)**

* * *

A pit lodged in the back of Ryou's throat as they drew near the great hall. He paused just outside the double doors. He'd have to separate from the group.

It wasn't like Luna, who dreamily drifted toward her Ravenclaw table without much more than a swift goodbye. Nor was it like Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Ginny, who were all going to the same table, where their friends awaited them with grins and stories of the events of the summer break.

He looked sadly toward the Slytherin table. Their conversations weren't so different from those of any other table. They didn't look so dissimilar from the other houses. But it still left a pool of dread somewhere deep within Ryou.

He shook his head. No, he wasn't afraid. He wasn't going to let Slytherin house ruin this year for him. He squared his shoulder and made for the front of the room. The weight of people staring was palpable, but he held his head high and kept walking.

He was used to being the spectacle. The odd one, the one who didn't fit in. It wouldn't stop him from sitting at the front of his table and supporting Malik, wherever he ended up.

He saw Draco sitting closer to the middle of the table. The blond boy glared at him as he passed. Ryou turned his head and continued walking. He found a span of open space near the front that was edged by second years. Three of the second years skittered away as soon as he sat down.

So far, this year was going great.

People gave him a wide berth as they continued to flood into the room. Not only that, but he was also absolutely certain that he was the subject of at least three nearby whispered conversations. There were probably many more that he couldn't hear.

At long last, the streams of people stemmed and slowed to a halt. The first years followed McGonagall to the front table where a tattered old hat awaited them. Malik sauntered in. His eyes swept quickly over the room, marveling at the ceiling and the people before spotting Ryou. He grinned. Ryou threw an encouraging smile his way.

/See, he's fine. You were worried for nothing/ Bakura said.

/ _Better safe than sorry_ / Ryou shot back. / _I trust Malik completely. Marik, on the other hand..._ /

Bakura nodded solemnly. The first years all looked ready to wet themselves from fright, but Malik just kept smirking, arms crossed and smug as could be.

Ryou sighed. / _He's terrified_ /

/Yup. You looked just like him when you were up there, though/ Bakura said with a bit of a grin.

Ryou wrinkled his nose up, frowning into the grain of the table /I wasn't that scared/

Bakura chuckled distantly. /Right. Of course not/

As the hat began to sing its song, Ryou noticed the small cracks in Malik's mask. People were whispering more than before. It was exactly like last year, when Ryou had towered over the other eleven year olds and stood out like a sore thumb. He only hoped that Malik could hold on until the sorting finished.

All of the first years were sorted first. The list of names ran down, one by one, until Malik was the final student waiting to be sorted. At last, McGonagall rolled up the scroll of names and turned to face the crowd.

"Last, joining the sixth year students," she said, pausing for a moment for the whispers to die back, "Ishtar, Malik." He sat down at the stool. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

The hat settled on his head. The silence was deafening. Malik's expression twisted painfully, calmed, and then split into a grin.

What would it say? Ryou had suspicions, of course. But the hat always had its own ideas where to place people. Ryou had expected to go to Hufflepuff, after all, and now here he was. There was no telling what it would finally decide.

The hat's brim opened wide, and a voice rang out, loud and clear, "Better be… Slytherin!"

Just like that, the Great Hall exploded into a flurry of whispers. Unlike the cheers for each new first year, the Slytherins didn't seem to know what to make if this turn of events.

But none of that seemed to matter to Malik, who bounced to his feet and jogged to where Ryou sat, giving him a giant high five and flopping into the seat beside him.

"Yeah! Same as you, Ryou!" he said, sounding proud of himself.

Ryou managed a smile. "Same as me!" he said, making a little more room. The nervous first years around Ryou seemed to look even more frightened than before. "Looks like we'll be together this year!"

There was some mingling of emotions on Malik's face, elation, relief, excitement, and other things that Ryou couldn't seem to identify in the swift glance.

A stuttered, broken applause greeted Dumbledore when he stood.

"To all new students, welcome to Hogwarts. And to all returning students, welcome home." Dumbledore looked over the room, waiting until the whispers lulled once more. "As some of you may have no doubt heard, a strange and previously unheard-of branch of magic was discovered over the summer.

"There is much to learn about this discovery of 'shadow magic'. We at Hogwarts are quite fortunate to be the first school to house this new form of magic, in the form of the only two known school-aged practitioners. However, these students are no more special than any other student, and will have the same expectations as all the rest.

"It is my belief that every one of you should be treated fairly, with the due respect you deserve. And so, we should do everything in our power to ensure that all of our students, new and old, feel welcome as they learn from one another," Dumbledore said sternly.

All eyes were on the end of the Slytherin table.

Malik coughed under his breath. "I feel like a zoo animal."

"They won't do anything but stare," Ryou said. He traced the grain of the table with his eyes more intently than before. "They never do. Don't worry about it, they'll get bored and find other news."

Dumbledore finished his announcements soon enough, but nothing really stood out after that. It was mostly the same warnings as those he gave in the previous year. Cautions to be safe, warnings of punishments for illicit activities, etc.

When Dumbledore had finally finished, he clapped his hands once. Platters shimmered and appeared on the tables, which groaned under the sudden weight of whole roasted chickens, baked potatoes, casseroles, crocks of vegetables, and all manner of warm, fragrant food.

Malik's mouth was watering. "Whoa," he said.

Ryou grinned. "Dig in!"

There was a prickle racing down the back of Ryou's neck, along with the feeling of being watched from afar. Draco was glaring again, this time from across the span of the table.

There was a moment's delay as the hateful expression devolved into something of pure hatred and fury, before Draco stood up. He began to walk down the way. In seconds he'd strode past the others, nearly reaching the end of the table.

There was something confrontational about him that set Ryou ill at ease and shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Look at you two, so smug," Draco spat. He crossed his arms. The nearby first years looked ready to wet themselves, until they realized that Draco was talking to Ryou and Malik. "I hope you're pleased by what you've done, Ryou. You could have had everything you wanted. You could have been safe."

"I'm just fine, thank you," Ryou said, trying to sound coolheaded and not at all like he was panicking. "We're safe enough without your 'help'."

"What's he on about?" Malik drawled through a mouthful of food. He looked Draco up and down with a critical eye. "Is this that cousin of yours? Bakura, he's bothering Ryou. Get rid of him."

Draco seethed and then flinched suddenly backward. There was a trace of fear in his eyes.

"I don't believe I take orders from you, Malik," Bakura said cheerily. "Try it again and I'll rip out your throat."

"Have fun dealing with Marik," Malik shot back as Bakura settled between the two of them. The first years looked faint.

"W-where did he come from?" Draco stammered.

Bakura's grin was all sharp teeth and bloodlust. He leered at Malfoy. "I come and go, don't you remember? I'm always watching. Waiting. Don't forget, Daddy's not here to protect you. Coward."

He barked out laughter that made Draco's peaky pale face look even more gaunt than before. Draco shook himself. Ryou knew him well enough to know he'd never dare lose face.

"I'll deal with you later," he spat. He returned to his area of the table. His posture looked more like that of a preening rooster than that of a dog with its tail between its legs. Bakura still hummed in cold delight. "Victory for us."

A bold-looking first year straightened her shoulders. "Who are you?"

"Quick question first. Did you ever fear the dark? Or the monster in your closet, or under your bed?" Bakura fired back.

The first year narrowed her eyes. "When I was little, maybe. So what?"

Bakura's face split into a terrifying grin. "I'm the reason why." And with a booming laugh he vanished once more, his form turning to gossamer curls of smoke.

/ _You're horrible/_ Ryou complained.

/And yet you love me all the same/ Bakura said.

/ _Ra only knows why/_

/It's my rakish good looks and infallible charm/ Bakura said.

Ryou smiled to himself. / _Pretty sure it's just the face. You're not good for anything else and I can't take you anywhere without you misbehaving/_

Bakura blew him a kiss. /You would be endlessly bored without me and you know it/

/ _I'm sure I could find ways of entertaining myself without-/_

Malik's hand passed in front of his face several times. "Earth to Ryou~ Are you in there?"

"Sorry," Ryou coughed.

Malik gave him a knowing look. "You're blushing."

"Am not," Ryou said, hiding the lie inside a mouthful of potato.

Malik looked smug. "You two just remember to be safe now."

Ryou blushed a deeper crimson while the first years looked confused.

When dinner finished, Ryou took great care to studiously avoid his cousin by steering Malik far away from the cluster of first years. After that, it was a simple matter of waiting by the door for everyone else to go through first.

Malik killed time by staring at the ceiling while Ryou tried to explain how it worked. Soon it was time for them to leave the great hall.

"Stick close," Ryou warned. "It's easy to get lost."

Malik laughed. "The castle looked big from the outside, but I grew up in more complicated places than this. I think I can find my way around."

"Really?" Ryou said. They stepped out of the Great Hall, angling towards the main stairs. Malik was suddenly struck frozen. "You can find your way?"

"The stairs move?!"

The stairs moved. As the two watched, the many staircases shifted and turned this way and that, connecting corridors with others without warning or much care for those climbing.

"I… may let you lead…" Malik said, eyes wide and still staring at the moving stairs. Ryou smiled indulgently and they made their way to the dungeons.

The air grew a bit clammy around them. The descent to the dungeon common room was quick enough. Bakura stuck his head inside just long enough to glance at the bulletin board which had both the current and next passwords written on it.

Malik shivered as they waited. "So… Living in the basement, I guess."

Ryou sent him a worried look. "You'll be alright, won't you? The common room is much different. And I'm sure if it's still a problem-"

"I'm fine, Ryou," Malik said. "I'm not scared of the dark."

Ryou watched Malik, but all he saw was a grin and a shrug from his friend. Ryou looked away. It wasn't the dark that had Ryou worried. But if Malik was sure…

"Password is Vermillion," Bakura reported. Ryou thanked him.

They stepped inside, finding themselves in a cozy-looking room bathed in a cool greenish tinge. Speckle-bellied minnows swam past windows framed by heavy silver lanterns. Many people were hanging out in the common room. All of them fell silent when they walked in.

Ryou shook his head, pulling Malik inside. Malik's room was on the opposite end from Ryou's, so they headed there first. The conversation didn't pick up until they were out of sight and in the nearby hall.

"This one's yours," Ryou said, opening the door. The room was empty of people, and only two of the beds seemed remotely mussed. There were trunks sitting at the ends of both of these. Malik's trunk was at the foot of the third bed.

"Damn, that's a lot of silver and green," Malik commented, running his fingers over the four-poster-bed's hangings.

"I imagine the Gryffindor dormitory is even more gaudy than this. Their colors are red and gold," Ryou said, trying to smile. He shivered. A strange chill was in the air.

Malik shot him a bored look. "You're not fooling me, you know. So, Ryou. What's wrong? Is it those people out there? You said they stared all last year, and you didn't let it get you down then-"

"It's not them," Ryou said. He shrugged. "It's not important."

"It is too important!" Malik said, grabbing Ryou's shoulder. "Come on, you're the type that keeps his mouth shut when something's bothering him. Well, I'm the kind that's gonna make you talk. So talk."

Ryou dithered, shifting back and forth on his heels. How to put into words just how much he dreaded returning to his room? All of his things were sealed in his trunk, and the others would be hard pressed to break into it to mess with his things. Which meant as long as he stayed here, he wouldn't have to see…

"It's Draco. He's mad at me, and he has every right to be. I know Bakura can scare him away. But still, if there was a way to avoid him completely…" Ryou said.

"Can't you just move in here?" Malik asked, patting the adjacent bed.

Ryou considered it. "Actually… maybe. I don't know. But I could talk to the head of house about it. Or Dumbledore… There has to be some way to switch rooms. Right?"

"Yeah," Malik said. He clapped Ryou on the shoulder with a grin. "See, this is going to be a great year!"

Ryou smiled blandly. Even if he could transfer out, he'd still see Draco in the common room. And in classes. And in the halls, and every meal time… A sick feeling built in his gut. He rubbed at his arms. Had it always been so cold down here?

It felt like all the warmth was being slowly sucked out of him.

"A great year," Ryou echoed.

A violent shiver ripped through him. His vision darkened.

"-oh? Ryou? Ry-"

The voice drifted hazily in and out, vaguely familiar. It softened. Drifted away, like a foreign dream.

Ryou let out a sudden scream.

Darkness crashed over him as suddenly as a violent ocean riptide. Blades of vicious ice slashed through his veins, ripping open his heart, overwhelming him with the brute, soul-crushing force of a massive wave. The shadows constricted around him. He gasped desperately for air. Couldn't breath! Vice-like, clutching at his throat, gagging.

The vision overwhelmed him like a sour dream. The same face looming out of the darkness, laughing so cruelly. His consciousness flickered in and out. He moved his feet, but he wasn't standing anymore. A distant pain flared in his hip. He'd struck the floor. Writhing. Gagging, gasping for air, whimpering.

The ice sluggishly dragged through his veins. It clotted in his lungs and cursed his lips.

"-so cold!"

Fingers, burning hot, on his forehead. Malik's voice. Ryou cried out.

Whispers roared in his ears. It was deafening. Over the screams of damned souls, worse by far, was the laughter. Distant, but growing closer. The beast opened his mouth. "Remind him," Zorc said. Eyes red as fresh blood swam before his vision. "He mustn't forget…"

The screams grew louder still around Ryou. Deafening. Their faces all mirrored the bloodstained grimaces of his mother and sister, the clammy skin, the empty, lifeless orbs that were their dead eyes. A hundred corpses, and the sickening, metallic stench of a burning flesh.

The image flickered.

He was in a car. Blood was thick on his tongue. The trees outside were wrong-side-up, reaching up with their roots into a grassy green sky. Blue sky rippled like the ocean. There was no sound, and it was deafening.

Plop, plop. Droplets hit the ceiling of the car. His hair brushed the spreading pool of crimson, staining the ends. Blood rushed to his head in dizzying pulses. The seatbelt held him to the seat.

Everything hurt. The others were silent. He could hear his own breath grow loud in his ears, hear the roaring drum beat of his pulse. The silence was so painfully deafening.

Mom? Amane? Amane!? He screamed out. Couldn't she hear him? It was so loud, but he screamed with all he had. She had to hear him. Why wasn't she answering? Amane, Amane, Amane. Mom?

Dad, don't go, don't leave me-

With a violent recoil, the darkness snapped back. His vision returned. The fever dream ended as quickly as it had started.

Ryou's cheeks were wet and he was shivering violently. A feral growl dragged him back from the dizzying brink of insanity. Bakura was leaning over him, snarling like an animal. Even Malik wasn't allowed close. Hands fluttered along his head.

"Hikari, Hikari," Bakura said. "Wake up. Ryou!"

Ryou cried in earnest. So cold. So cold. Amane, Mom.

"Shit," Bakura growled. He rubbed Ryou's arms fiercely, trying to circulate blood through them. The tips of his fingers were bright pink, like he'd stuck his hands in snow. "Your lips are blue. Ryou? Come back."

"What happened?" Malik asked. He looked freaked out.

Ryou shook his head. He couldn't stop shaking. "Him… it's him," he gasped. He couldn't breathe.

"He needs help!" Malik said.

"I've got him!" Bakura roared back. He was still rubbing Ryou's arms, his shoulders, trying to use the friction to heat him up. "Just… warm up. Warm up," he muttered. There was panic in his eyes. They were so red… so red… Ryou twitched just thinking of the bloodlusted eyes of before.

"He can't stay like this, he's gonna die," Malik said. "His face is _not_ supposed to be that color!"

"What do you want me to do?" Bakura barked back. He held Ryou close.

"Get him some help!" Malik said.

Ryou sagged in Bakura's arms like a limp ragdoll. His limbs didn't want to work. His mouth gaped open and closed like a dying fish. Air- he needed air- Why couldn't he breathe- So cold- They didn't understand, he needed air!

Bakura growled again, this time in despair. "Urgh! Don't die, Ryou!" he commanded, picking Ryou up. The temperature plunged around them. Colors blurred, distorted, grew dark… His throat ached. He was screaming.

* * *

Ryou came to in the hospital wing. White sheets were pulled up to his chin, another blanket laying over the top. He was shaking. It was quiet, but not deafening. His racing pulse began to slow.

A draft stirred the bed's hangings.

There was a weight on his chest that made it impossible to move. Air moving, circulating through. Breath. Two someones? He opened his eyes slowly.

"You're awake?" Malik was the first to notice. "Bakura, he's awake-"

"I know," Bakura said. A hand pressed to Ryou's forehead. Bakura's. He turned his head slightly and saw Bakura staring down at him. "How do you feel?"

"Hot," Ryou said. He squirmed in the sheets.

Bakura put a hand on his shoulder. "You're still ice cold. Leave them there. What do you remember?"

"H-him," Ryou gasped. "He- he's- he said-" He began to babble incoherently, cringing. The voice had the quality of broken glass grating together, mixing with the screams of the innocent and the laughter of the damned. His skin prickled with goosebumps.

"Shhh," Bakura shushed gently. "Hikari. He's gone."

"He's not!" Ryou cried out. Why couldn't Bakura understand that Zorc had been there? That gruesome beast from Ryou's worst nightmares. This wasn't just an errant phantasm, it was him! It had to be, there was no way anything could ever be so horrifying.

Hands pinned his wrists gently to the bed. Malik was holding him down. Somehow, he'd started to thrash in bed without realizing it. He forced himself to hold still and take calming breaths.

"It's hot," he said.

Malik smiled weakly in spite of himself, though he looked terrified and pale. "You're just cold, Ryou. The woman, what was her name? Pomfrey? She said you had something like hypno… high-plow…"

"Hypothermia," Bakura said, rolling his eyes. "Can't you speak English?"

"I speak three other languages. Get on my level," Malik shot back. But there was no bite in their argument. They didn't have the spirit for it. They were looking at Ryou with identical expressions.

Ryou pouted at his bed hangings. "You don't have to look at me like I'm on my deathbed," he said finally.

"You don't get it," Malik said. "Your body temperature was 73 degrees. If you didn't stop getting colder, she said you might not wake up. We barely got you warm again."

"What?" Ryou said. He blinked, shivering again. "You… you're joking. It's not that cold-"

"The shadows sucked the heat from your body," Malik said. "At first, it was pretty scary how much you were shaking. And then, you just… stopped." Malik looked ready to punch something. "It was terrifying, Ryou! Don't you dare scare us like that again! I thought Bakura was going to murder the nurse!"

Ryou shot Bakura a warning look. He shrugged. "I wouldn't have killed her so long as she helped. But I would not have regretted it either."

Ryou swatted Bakura's head, but he was too weak to do much more than whiff Bakura's hair. Bakura kissed his knuckles.

Ryou stared at his sheets.

 _Remind him_.

The words echoed through his head, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. Remind whom? And remind them of what?

 _He mustn't forget_.

Ryou wished that he could forget everything. But as wonderful as Madam Pomfrey's many medicines could be, none could erase the terrible images that had flashed before his eyes. He closed his eyes, trying desperately to hold back the shaky sobs.

Bakura wrapped an arm around him. Malik grabbed his hand. And, to his surprise, Uraeus was curled around his foot through the sheet. Ryou smiled wanly.

/We can discuss this more after you've calmed down/ Bakura said. Ryou nodded silently.

"How long have I been out?" Ryou asked finally.

"Two hours or so," Malik answered. "You're apparently not allowed to leave till tomorrow morning."

"Great," Ryou said dryly, then paused. He wouldn't have to see Draco now. At least, for one night anyway.

"Ah. To be surrounded by friends," an old voice said. "Pardon my intrusion, but I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I stopped by. I know it's late, of course."

Dumbledore was smiling pleasantly. He walked between the rows of beds with an easy, measured pace.

"It's fine," Ryou managed. He blinked a few times to clear his head. "What… why are you here?"

Dumbledore clasped his hands together. The sleeves fell forward, covering them from sight. He smiled patiently. "I heard that the shadow users had appeared in the hospital wing. Call it an old man being nosy, perhaps, but I was concerned that something might have happened."

He paused. Bakura's lips has become a thin, furious line, but he was silent.

"And there was something I had wanted to mention."

Ryou shifted in the bed, rising awkwardly into a sitting position. Bakura pushed him back down, glaring. Ryou glared back and returned to the upright position. Malik shook his head.

"What was it?" Ryou finally asked.

"Simply this. You'll both be given access to a private classroom within the school for you to practice whatever magic you may choose to, should you need it. Malik, I'm sure, would like an opportunity to catch up. And, having no idea how your magic works, I think it may be in your best interest not to simply vanish like last year," Dumbledore said with a sly wink.

The color drained from Ryou's face. Did Dumbledore know about the room of requirement? But he was headmaster, it would only make sense…

"Also, Malik, if you would like, a professor can take you to Hogsmeade before classes tomorrow, if you would like to purchase a wand."

Malik looked confused. "What?"

"He would love to. Thank you," Ryou said, smiling. He looked pointedly at Malik.

"Oh, yeah, thanks," Malik said. "I- I'll be up early I guess?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Excellent. I wish you a pleasant evening, and a speedy recovery." With a small sweep of his robes, Dumbledore turned and started to walk from the room.

"Wait," Ryou called out. He had just remembered. Dumbledore turned back. "Is it possible to switch rooms? In the dorms, I mean?" he asked. "I… I was worried…"

"This is not something I can do," Dumbledore said. Ryou's face fell. "You would need to speak with your head of house on the matter. However, it is not unprecedented."

Relief washed through him. "Thank you, sir," he said.

Dumbledore left once more, and it was curiously silent in the hospital wing. Ryou sat back, closing his eyes with a tight smile. One less thing to worry about, hopefully. He had potions tomorrow, so he'd have a perfect chance to talk to Snape about the matter after class.

Fingers combed lightly through his hair.

"You need sleep. You look like death," Malik said.

"Thanks," Ryou scoffed, but his eyes did feel strangely heavy. The aftermath of the assault on his mind was as much physical as it was psychological.

He was scared, cold, and _exhausted._ His muscles dimly ached like he'd been working out. The twitchy, nervous thing in the core of his being, the part that wanted to curl inward and scream, made his hands quiver despite his best attempts to steady them? That was the fear.

His body started to shake again. They didn't, couldn't understand the fear, the sheer wall of terror that came just from seeing that creature, there was no way. The hopelessness that came from the shadows overwhelming him just because they could, because Ryou couldn't do a thing to stop the crushing waves of darkness-

A hand pushed the hair back from his forehead. Ryou opened his eyes, which he'd screwed shut without even thinking about. Bakura was looking at him.

"I don't want this," Ryou said. He hated how broken his voice sounded, how fragile. "He'll just come back, try it again."

"He won't-" Bakura started, but Ryou but a finger to his lips.

"You're not perfect, Bakura. I know that. He's got to know it. It doesn't make you less. It just means that he's… I don't know. Better at this."

Bakura's face flickered with emotion for the briefest of seconds, a flash of pain, anger, and something _vulnerable_. His expression blanked as quickly as it had happened, but that split second cut Ryou worse than any knife.

"Surely there's something I can do," Ryou said. "The shadows were what almost killed me, right? If I could control them-"

"You know how dangerous that is, right?" Bakura asked sharply.

Ryou fixed his gaze. The last bits of emotion were draining out of Bakura's eyes, almost as quickly as he noticed they were there. Clarity cut through the exhausted haze.

"I know. You've made that abundantly clear."

Bakura watched his face for long moments. "I don't like it much. But you need more defence. More than that silly magic of yours," he scoffed. "At least enough knowledge to bring about some internal control."

Malik leaned forward. "You're going to teach Ryou how to use the shadows?"

"He's offered before," Ryou said obliquely. "But I think now, we don't have much of a choice. I need to learn or-"

Bakura caught the train of thought before Ryou could even say it. "I'm not letting you die that easily," he growled.

Malik sighed. He looked sad.

* * *

There wasn't much to say after that. Ryou was still exhausted from the assault, and he couldn't hold his eyes open for much longer. He drifted away to Bakura's distant humming. Malik was left to return to the dorm alone.

Sleep was an uncomfortable thing that night. He came in and out of consciousness many times, falling back with a soft touch to his forehead. But the stiff hospital bed was uncomfortable, and his mind refused to relinquish any trace of awareness.

Shutting his mind down seemed as impossible as the thought of letting down his guard. He eventually gave up, defeated and bleary-eyed.

The light coming in through the east-facing windows was a soft thing, gentle and easy. The kind of suffuse light that came from the twinkling hours of predawn, when the sky first started to split in shades of pinks and violets. It was the sort of thing that came on the fluttering songs of birds as they welcomed the new day.

"Go back to sleep," Bakura ordered.

"No," Ryou responded simply. He rolled over and sat up, rubbing at his face. Every movement had the sluggish quality of a waking dream. "Time for school."

"Not for hours," Bakura replied.

Ryou fell backwards. His eyes were open now, staring at the ceiling. Speckles dotted the surface in irregular whorls and meaningless patterns. One rather resembled a rabbit.

 _Remind him_.

He didn't even know who needed to be reminded, let alone what they needed reminding of. It wasn't hard to hazard a guess or two, but even so...

Bakura took a more solid form at the side of his bed.

"Bakura…" Ryou said in a small voice. "Why did you do it?"

Bakura blinked slowly. "Do what?"

"Work with him. Ally yourself with that… thing."

"Ah," Bakura said simply. He looked upwards, probably settling his gaze somewhere near the speckle-rabbit. "Reasons, Hikari. Selfish, dark reasons."

"The Pharaoh?" Ryou said.

Bakura shrugged. "Among others. I was confident I could take out the pharaoh alone. Wanted to do it alone, too. But… Well, that's a really long story. One you likely don't want to hear after last night."

"We have time," Ryou said, blinking at his darker half.

Bakura snorted, grimly amused. "Not actually that long of a story, light. Just a saying."

"Oh," Ryou muttered. The mindlink rippled faintly, and a few of Bakura's surface emotions could be felt. It was as light a touch as feathers, but solid at the same time. Darkness, guilt. Regret. "That bad?"

"Worse," Bakura said. "I'll tell you another time, alright?"

"Promise?" Ryou asked.

Bakura nodded. "I promise."

Ryou waited until breakfast had already started to make his way down to the dungeons. Most people were gone by then, leaving the common room almost empty, and the dormitory areas devoid of life. Ryou picked his way into his room.

He had almost expected his bed to be trashed in some way, the hangings ripped down or the sheets thrown to the floor. When people in private schools bullied him, his living space had been a popular target.

He should have remembered that Draco wouldn't do that. Not because he wasn't petty like that, but because he was more calculated. When he made a move, it would cut worse than any trashed bedspace ever could. Ryou would need to be careful.

He dressed quickly in fresh robes, shouldered his bag, and hurried to the Great Hall before the food could vanish. There was no sign of Malik. Of course not, he'd been taken to Hogsmeade.

He was glared at by other Slytherins, but most of them said nothing directly to him. He ignored them as best he could. Slytherins valued family and tradition above all else. Ryou had broken those values in their eyes. But he would still hold his head high.

He ate quickly in peace, and left alone. Malik would return for his first class, Ryou was fairly certain, but having his friend gone was already making him feel just a bit alone.

/Ryou!/ The shout ripped through his head just as fingers brushed the collar of his cloak. Instead of slamming him against the wall, as had probably been the goal, Draco himself hit the stone with a muffled grunt. Bakura's hand held him in place.

Their glares were murderous mirrors.

"Let me go!" Draco demanded.

"And just what were you planning on doing?" Bakura growled.

"Let him go," Ryou whispered.

Draco thrashed in the viselike grip. He muttered something under his breath, twitching his wand. Instantly, a stream of light swelled between them like a bubble, forcing them apart.

Draco's back was still flush with the wall, but Bakura was now a pace or two away.

Bakura studied his hands. "Interesting. That spell seems like it was intended to cause bodily harm. Pity it doesn't really work on me."

"Shut it," Draco snarled. He turned. "I want you to admit it, Ryou. Everything that's happened has been your fault! You worthless, waste of space, good for nothing-"

"Stop," Ryou forced out. His legs gave a gelatinous quiver. "That's not- I-"

"You think you made the right choice?" Draco was furious. "You seem to think this is a joke, _cousin_." He spat the final with as bitterly as he could. "But this isn't a game. You don't even know what you've done."

Draco let out a small, cold laugh.

"Isn't that funny? Everything that's happened is because of you and Potter. And now, here the two of you are, best of friends."

"Leave now and I'll consider not exposing your insides to the outside, as a favor to my precious Ryou," Bakura said. He flicked a knife out.

Draco glanced at Bakura. A healthy flicker of fear laced the look, but also a hint of turning gears, thoughts moving.

They were in a rarely used corridor, the kind Ryou favored to avoid unwanted attention. There were no witnesses.

Draco turned to Ryou.

"Hiding behind that thing, as always, while the rest of us have to get our hands dirty. I'm glad you're not in our family," Draco said. "It means that when the time comes, I'm going to make you suffer. You'll feel the same pain I did."

Ryou found he couldn't quite move. He wanted to collapse, but he also wanted to run. Neither seemed like a good option. "Let's go," he muttered.

"I could kill him. Right now. It'll be easy," Bakura said. He cracked his knuckles, shadows lacing throughout. Draco became a little flatter against the wall, but otherwise held his head just as high.

Ryou shook his head. "Killing people is not a solution. Let's just go find Malik."

"Your friend? Malik's his name right?" Draco said. It didn't sound nice, the way it came out, but rather like a threat. "Be a shame if something happened to both of you. He'd be all alone."

Ryou knew that Draco hadn't meant it that way, but the thought alone of Malik by himself was enough to chill Ryou's bones. Anyone else would have been miserable enough to find themselves suddenly alone. Malik, on other hand…

Ryou straightened up. "Mess with Malik, and I promise you'll regret it."

"Really? And I suppose you're going to stop me?" Draco said. "You and your loyal pet?" He glared at Bakura.

"Malik can take care of himself," Ryou said simply. He turned away, venturing deeper into the empty corridor. Each corner he rounded brought him further away from his cousin. There were no signs that Draco was following him, and Ryou was sure that Bakura would have mentioned it anyway.

He turned one more corner before collapsing into a ball, chest heaving. He clutched his head.

Bakura called his name. It was a long time before he replied.

"Sometimes, I just don't want to do this anymore. I just… I want to break down. So bad. But…"

"But you always hold your head up high," Bakura said. A simple statement of fact. He kissed Ryou's forehead.

Ryou nodded. His eyes were damp in the corners, heat burned a vivid crimson into his cheeks, but still he nodded, terse though it may have been. "Even if the world was falling to pieces. I won't let anyone see me like this." He shook his head and forced himself back onto his feet. "I can't let Draco get to me. I won't."

* * *

 **These characters might face some hardships in the future. The challenges may seem at some points insurmountable. But at the same time, I am a real sucker for a happy ending :) Thanks for the reviews and messages and faves/follows.**

 **And I really don't mind a grouchy comment or two. It was a bit of a wake-up call, actually, and it got me to finish this chapter up. So rock on, everyone who reviews! I love em all!**


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